/ 


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:X^NDER  II^NES  SH^ND 


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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Class 


SOLDIERS    OF    FORTUNE 


BY  THE  SAME   AUTHOR 

DAYS    OF    THE    PAST 

A   MEDLEY   OF    MEMORIES 

The  Speaker. — "  The  Scotch  chapters  are  fascinat- 
ing ;  .  .  .  I  could  read  his  recollections  of  stage  coaches 
with  pleasure  for  a  week  on  end." 

The  Spectator. — "  This  is  one  of  the  most  delight- 
ful books  of  the  '  reminiscences '  order  that  have  been 
published  for  a  long  time.  .  .  .  Mr.  Shand's  pen 
portraits  are  admirable  ;  but  even  these  are  not  the  best 
of  the  contents  of  a  most  delightful  book." 

Pall  Mall  Gazette. — "  He  has  just  the  art  which 
belongs  to  a  good  talker — that  of  recalling  past  images 
from  his  memory  and  making  them  vivid  to  others  for  a 
moment  by  force  of  contact  and  sympathy." 


LONDON 

ARCHIBALD   CONSTABLE  &  COMPANY,   Ltd. 

lo  Orange  Street,  Leicester  Square,  W.C. 


SOLDIERS 
OF    FORTUNE 


IN  CAMP  8^  COURT 


BY 


ALEXANDER   INNES    SHAND 


AUTHOR  OF 


"LIFE  OF  GENERAL   SIR   E.    B.    HAMLEY,"    "LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JOHN  JACOB," 
"WELLINGTON'S  LIEUTENANTS,"   ETC.   ETC. 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  BUTTON  AND  COMPANY 

1907 


-^-'' 


V.^ 


p^iicms  nooM 


Printed  by 

Ballantyne,  Hanson  &•  Co. 

Edinburgh 


INTRODUCTORY 

The  sword  has  always  been  the  resource  of  the  adventurous 
or  impecunious,  and  the  roll  of  celebrated  soldiers  of  fortune 
is  so  long  that  the  choice  may  be  much  a  matter  of  fancy 
or  predilection.  But  there  were  epochs  when  the  trade  was 
exceptionally  flourishing,  there  were  times  when  men  were 
typical  or  when  circumstances  forced  them  to  the  front, 
as  there  were  illustrious  careers  sensationally  dramatic. 
So  there  is  justification  for  a  selection  not  altogether  arbi- 
trary. One  naturally  begins  with  the  mediaeval  Condottieri 
and  as  naturally  ends  with  the  Indian  Adventurers,  their 
modern  representatives.  The  war  which  for  thirty  years 
desolated  Europe  saw  the  developments  of  a  science  then 
in  its  infancy,  with  a  revolution  in  the  methods  of  cam- 
paigning. Our  countrymen,  and  especially  the  Scots,  had 
a  special  interest  in  that  war  from  the  numbers  who  flocked 
to  the  standards  of  the  Lion  of  the  North,  the  Catholic 
League,  or  the  Empire.  Of  the  many  Scottish  soldiers  of 
fortune.  Marshal  Keith  of  the  next  century  was  by  far  the 
greatest.  All  are  familiar  with  him  as  one  of  Frederick's 
most  trusted  lieutenants,  but  less  is  known  of  his  concern 
in  the  Jacobite  intrigues,  and  as  httle  of  the  vicissitudes 
of  his  life  in  Russian  camps  and  courts,  where,  after  rising 
to  the  highest  rank,  his  Scottish  caution  saved  him  from 
the  scaffold  or  Siberia.     Eugene,  born  with  the  very  genius 


Jl-O 


9 


vi  INTRODUCTORY 

of  war,  was  rejected  by  the  country  of  his  adoption  in  an 
evil  hour  for  France.  Soldier  and  statesman,  diplomatist 
and  man  of  letters,  from  the  Meuse  to  the  Danube,  from 
the  Alps  to  the  Apennines,  he  commanded  under  greater 
difficulties  and  in  a  greater  diversity  of  campaigning  than 
his  friend  and  colleague  Marlborough,  and  the  career  of  the 
Edler  Ritter  of  the  camp  songs  was  a  romance  from  be- 
ginning to  end.  Romantic  as  it  was,  it  was  surpassed  by 
that  of  Maurice  of  Saxe,  born,  Hke  Eugene,  almost  on  the 
steps  of  a  throne,  and  scarcely  embarrassed  by  the  bar 
sinister.  Distinguished  by  supreme  talents  and  degraded 
by  his  follies,  no  ambitious  hero  ever  missed  more  mag- 
nificent opportunities,  when  a  choice  of  marriages  might 
have  made  him  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias.  He  had  to 
console  himself  with  the  baton  of  a  Marshal  of  France, 
where  he  died  with  the  reputation  of  the  first  soldier  of 
the  age,  crowned  with  laurels  and  overwhelmed  with  the 
honours  ordinarily  paid  to  royalty  alone. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

I.  THE  CONDOTTIERI i 


II.  SIR  JAMES  TURNER 33 

III.  SIR   JOHN    HEPBURN    AND    COLONEL    ROBERT 

MUNRO 58 

IV.  COUNT  LESLIE  OF  BALQUHAIN        ....  96 
V.  PRINCE  EUGENE 105 

VI.  MARSHAL  KEITH 155 

VII.  MARSHAL  SAXE 209 

VIII.  INDIAN  ADVENTURERS        ...                 .        .  246 


SOLDIERS    OF    FORTUNE 


THE    CONDOTTIERI 

Arms  and  the  Church  were  the  professions  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  The  sprinkUng  of  saints  found  their  vocation  in 
the  cloister  :  men  of  birth  and  connection  sought  luxurious 
living  in  episcopal  sees  and  abbeys,  richly  endowed  by 
piety  or  superstition  and  bequests  wrung  from  sinners  in 
the  terrors  of  the  death-bed.  Sluggish  or  tranquilly  in- 
clined spirits  swelled  the  ranks  of  the  secular  and  regular 
clergy.  Not  unfrequently  the  professions  were  confounded. 
Unfrocked  monks  became  the  truculent  leaders  of  robber 
bands,  as  nuns,  forgetful  of  their  solemn  vows,  discarded 
the  veil  and  followed  the  camp.  Alexander  de  Bourbon, 
a  boy  canon  of  the  noblest  race,  became  chief  of  a  swarm 
of  the  terrible  Ecorcheurs.  For  war  was  the  profitable  and 
popular  trade,  a  business  for  which  every  able-bodied  man 
was  adapted.  Nor  was  there  ever  any  lack  of  occupation. 
Kings  and  potentates  were  always  quarrelling  or  patch- 
ing up  some  temporary  peace.  The  formidable  feudatories, 
who  recognised  a  shadowy  suzerainty  when  it  served  their 
purposes,  were  continually  breaking  out  in  rebellion  and 
forming  leagues  against  the  Crown.     Monarchs  who  could 


2  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

never  rely  on  feudal  support  enlisted  bodies  ol  foreign 
mercenaries,  who  paid  themselves  for  the  most  part  by 
pillage.  When  disbanded  on  a  truce,  they  sought  service 
elsewhere,  or  fought  for  their  own  hands  like  the  Smith  of 
the  Wynd,  and  pillaged  on  their  own  account.  The  Peace 
of  Bretigny  was  a  notable  case  in  point  :  it  sent  hordes  of 
savage  marauders  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
wasted  South,  called  by  different  names,  at  different  times, 
and  in  different  languages.  Condottieri,  Companies,  Tard- 
venus,  Ecorcheurs,  and  Tondeurs  who  flayed  and  clipped, 
were  the  pestilent  scourges  of  France,  Piedmont,  and 
Italy.  The  wings  of  the  Death-Angel  were  for  ever  beat- 
ing the  air,  for  plague,  pestilence,  and  famine  were  follow- 
ing in  their  track.  As  the  seat  of  the  wars  was  shifted, 
as  when  France  was  swept  clean  and  utterly  impoverished, 
they  crossed  the  Alps  or  passed  by  the  seaboard  into  the 
fertile  plains  of  Italy,  Destructive  as  locusts,  they  rode 
through  the  orange  groves  of  Provence,  and  the  cliffs  on 
the  Corniche  rung  to  the  hoofs  of  the  war-steeds  of  the 
mailed  squadrons. 

France  was  for  centuries  at  the  point  of  exhaustion, 
though  then,  as  now,  it  showed  marvellous  recuperative 
power.  Italy,  with  wealth  apparently  inexhaustible,  be- 
came the  grand  magnet  of  attraction.  There  were  all  the 
favourable  conditions  of  perpetual  strife,  and  it  is  amazing 
how  it  continued  to  pay  its  way  and  tempt  the  Free  Com- 
panies, either  by  hiring  them  or  raising  itself  from  their  ruth- 
less exertions.  The  Pope,  who  should  have  been  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  was  continually  in  the  hottest  of  hot  water,  the 
centre  of  intrigue  and  the  soul  of  some  league  of  defence 
or  aggression.     The  land  was  split  up  into  petty  princi- 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  3 

palities  or  more  or  less  flourishing  republics,  and  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Adriatic  it  was  divided  against  itself.  Scarcely 
a  city  but  had  its  embittered  factions,  alternately  pro- 
scribed, exiled,  and  recalled,  or  the  citizens  were  in  revolt 
against  the  aristocracy,  when  all  were  having  recourse  to 
the  inevitable  mercenary,  who  dictated  his  terms  and 
rigorously  exacted  them. 

It  was  towards  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
that  the  Condottieri  began  to  organise  themselves.     Their 
precursor  was   a   famous   or  infamous  soldier  of  fortune, 
who  can  scarcely  be  strictly  classed  among  their  leaders. 
Walter  de   Brienne,  titular  Duke   of  Athens,  had  centred 
energies    and    ambitions    on    the    mastership    of    Florence, 
His  first  appearance  on  the  scene  was  as  lieutenant  of  the 
Duke  of  Calabria,  the  son  of  the  King  of  Naples.     Born 
in  Greece,  he  was  descended  from  the  high-born  Crusaders 
who  had  carved  themselves  out  principalities  in  the  East. 
Penniless  as  his  namesake,  who  had  headed  the  unfortunate 
rabble  of  the  First  Crusade,  he  was  the  banished  heir  of  a 
father  who  had  lost  the  duchy  of  Athens  to  the  Catalonians. 
Neither  in  looks  nor  character  had  he  anything  to  recom- 
mend  him.       He   was   slight    of   frame    and   repulsive   in 
features,   but   to   more    than   Italian   craft   he   united    in- 
domitable courage  :    he  had  no  ordinary  talent   for  war, 
and  grasping  avarice  stimulated  daring  ambition.     Scruples 
he  had  none,  and  to  avarice  and  ambition  he  sacrificed 
his  allies  as  lightly  as  his  enemies.     His  second  appearance 
on  the  stage  of  history  was  in  1340,  when  the  Florentines 
and   Pisans  were   at   deadly  feud.     By  dash,  daring,  and 
intrigue  he  undermined  and  superseded  Malatesta,  a  veteran 
leader,  come  of  a  fighting]family,  who  was  then  in  command 


4  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

of  the  Florentine  army.  The  Florentines  thought  they 
had  found  a  man  at  last,  and  made  him  Chief  Justiciary 
and  Captain  of  the  people.  Like  Tarquin  with  the  poppies, 
he  abused  the  double  offices  to  strike  off  the  noblest  heads, 
and  the  reign  of  terror  recommended  him  to  the  populace 
rather  than  otherwise.  He  secured  the  Lordship  at  which 
he  had  aimed,  though  Florence  had  never  before  conferred 
it  on  a  foreigner,  and,  had  he  exercised  his  authority  with 
moderation,  might  have  sat  securely  in  his  seat.  But 
exactions,  atrocities,  and  unbridled  libertinage  hatched  a 
succession  of  formidable  conspiracies,  making  the  armed 
populace  ready  for  an  emeute.  The  Podesta  was  blockaded 
in  his  palace,  which  he  held  with  400  Burgundian  soldiers, 
till  he  came  to  terms  with  the  town.  He  was  suffered  to 
go  free,  taking  his  treasure  with  him,  characteristically 
robbing  of  their  pay  the  gallant  warriors  who  had  stood 
so  staunchly  by  his  cause.  But  his  brief  tyranny  had 
drained  Florence  of  her  accumulated  wealth,  and  his  fall 
had  cost  her  all  her  recent  conquests. 

The  result  was  the  rise  of  the  roving  companies.  To 
him  succeeded  Werner  —  Italianised  into  Guarinci  —  a 
German  adventurer.  The  Pisans,  relieved  of  their  fear 
of  Florence,  had  disbanded  the  German  lances  who  had 
been  their  salvation.  Guarinci  conceived  the  brilliant 
idea  of  keeping  them  together  as  an  independent  force  of 
brigands.  He  assured  them  the  regular  pay  he  pledged 
himself  to  provide.  It  was  to  be  raised  by  terrorising  and 
levying  contributions.  The  divisions  of  petty  princes  and 
hostile  republics  were  his  opportunities.  In  audacious 
blasphemy  he  displayed  on  his  breast  a  placard,  declaring 
him  the  enemy  of  God,  of  pity,  and  of  mercy ;   and  as  to 


THE    CONDOTTIERI  5 

that  he  kept  his  promises  honourably.  He  began  with 
Sienna,  a  comparatively  powerful  state,  and  from  Sienna 
he  accepted  a  comparatively  moderate  ransom,  to  serve 
as  an  advertisement  and  warning.  Weaker  principalities 
succumbed  at  the  first  summons.  He  ravaged  Perugia, 
Romagna,  and  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter.  Princes  and 
nobles  paid  him  off  to  attack  their  feudal  enemies,  though 
only  gaining  some  short  reprieve  till  he  turned  his  arms 
against  themselves. 

In  1347  Guarinci  was  so  strong  that  he  led  Queen  Jane 
of  Naples  back  in  triumph  to  her  rebellious  capital.  Taken 
prisoner  by  the  changing  fortunes  of  the  war,  he  passed 
into  the  service  of  the  King  of  Hungary.  He  lost  nothing 
by  changing  sides,  for  Louis  of  Tarento  had  withdrawn  in 
despair,  and  his  armies  had  free  license  to  pillage  every- 
where. The  papal  legate  had  bought  the  Company  off, 
paying  a  heavy  ransom  for  a  brief  reprieve.  Guarinci's 
mercenaries  clamoured  for  a  division  of  the  spoil.  iVs  Sis- 
mondi  says,  by  the  torture  of  prisoners  they  had  brought 
almost  all  hidden  treasures  to  light.  After  the  waste  of 
their  merciless  war  they  divided  a  great  sum.  Having 
stripped  the  unhappy  Neapolitans  to  the  skin,  the  duke 
marched  for  Northern  Italy.  But,  characteristically,  his 
brigands,  gorged  with  spoil,  broke  up  and  dispersed  to 
squander  it,  and  Guarinci,  satiated  himself,  with  a  follow- 
ing reduced  to  a  few  hundred  horse,  seems  to  have  re- 
crossed  the  Alps  and  gone  into  retreat  and  obscurity. 

The  scattered  forces  of  the  Company,  impoverished  by 
debauch  and  impotent  for  harm,  were  not  left  long  without 
a  leader.  Guarinci  was  succeeded  by  Walter  de  Montreal, 
of  a  more  chivalrous  spirit,  but  as  celebrated  for  his  cruelty 


6  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

as  his  courage.  De  Montreal,  known  far  and  near  to  the 
Italians  as  the  terrible  Fra  Moriale,  was  a  knight  of  Provence 
who  wore  the  cross  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem.  The  Hospi- 
taller was  as  little  scrupulous  as  his  predecessor.  But  he 
had  far-reaching  ambition,  with  something  of  the  craft  of 
a  Machiavelli,  and  he  dreamed  of  shaping  himself  out  such 
a  kingdom  as  the  equally  formidable  Hawkwood  himself 
declined.  Hawkwood  fought  for  lands  and  riches  :  De 
Montreal  only  valued  wealth  as  the  stepping-stone  to  high 
place  and  power.  In  his  methods  he  anticipated  the 
Constable  de  Bourbon  and  Wallenstein.  He  had  made 
himself  a  name  in  the  wars  of  Naples,  and  had  brought  the 
soldiery  under  his  orders  into  some  kind  of  discipline,  on 
the  understanding  that  out  of  the  ranks  they  might  indulge 
in  every  sort  of  license.  He  sent  out  a  summons  that 
resounded  beyond  the  Alps,  generous  in  promises  of  pay 
and  pillage.  Very  soon  he  had  gathered  a  following  so 
formidable  that  no  strength  of  the  North  dared  to  resist 
him.  He  raided  the  Marches  and  the  Romagna  :  he  made 
the  futile  leagues  formed  against  him  pay  heavy  ransom 
for  their  audacity  :  now  he  laid  a  wealthy  republic  under 
contribution,  and  again  he  sacked  a  flourishing  city  which 
had  hesitated  to  come  to  terms.  At  one  time  he  had 
7000  men-at-arms  with  him,  and  his  light  infantry  were 
a  body  of  elite.  There  was  a  crowd  of  camp  followers 
who  carried  weapons,  with  traders,  and  troops  of  courte- 
sans ;  it  was  said  that  in  all  they  numbered  20,000  souls ; 
and  aU  these  had  to  be  indulged  in  license  and  encouraged 
to  pillage  for  the  camp.  Malatesta,  of  the  Malatesti  of 
Rimini,  another  leader  of  Free  Companies,  had  once  beaten 
and  humiliated  him,  but  now  Malatesta  was  compelled  to 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  7 

succumb.  In  vain  he  sought  aUies  or  begged  for  subsidies  : 
neither  prince  nor  repubUc  dared  come  to  his  assistance, 
and  what  was  mainly  an  Italian  army  melted  away.  The 
deserters  poured  over  to  the  camp  of  De  Montreal,  noble 
adventurers  flocked  to  him  from  France  and  Germany,  and 
the  Grand  Company,  become  absolutely  irresistible,  hung 
like  a  thunder-cloud  over  Rome,  which  had  temporarily 
regained  its  liberties  under  Rienzi. 

Then  De  Montreal's  subtlety  failed  him,  and  his  ambition 
overreached  itself.  He  had  gone  to  Rome  incognito  and 
as  a  conspirator,  to  pave  the  way  for  the  advent  of  his 
Company.  He  counted  without  the  Tribune,  or  rather  he 
underrated  the  determination  and  the  patriotic  disin- 
terestedness of  that  remarkable  man.  He  trusted,  besides, 
in  the  protection  of  his  brothers,  who  had  sold  themselves 
and  their  mercenaries  to  Rienzi.  Rienzi  was  informed  of 
the  presence  of  De  Montreal ;  leaving  the  German  men- 
at-arms  at  Palestrina,  he  hastened  back  to  the  capital, 
seized  the  chief  of  the  Company  at  a  midnight  meeting, 
and  refused  to  let  him  purchase  his  hfe  on  any  terms. 
De  Montreal's  head  fell  on  the  scaffold,  and  it  needed  but 
little  of  a  prophetic  spirit,  when  he  predicted  a  similar  fate 
for  the  Tribune,  whose  authority  rested  on  the  favour  of 
the  fickle  Roman  mob. 

With  the  death  of  De  Montreal  vanished  his  political 
ambitions.  The  Grand  Company  remained,  but  solely  as 
an  association  of  brigands,  and  the  republics  and  petty 
tyrants  of  Italy  were  relieved  from  the  fear  of  subjugation 
under  the  military  dictatorship  of  a  foreign  Podesta.  De 
Montreal's  heutenant,  Count  Lando,  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand, put  himself  up  to  auction,  and  was  promptly  hired 


8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

by  Venice   in   its  league   against   the   Visconti.      Charged 
with  the  ravage  of  the  state  of  Vianna,  it  was  preparing  to 
invade  Naples,  when  for  once  it  had  a  generous  impulse, 
and  undertook  to  right  a  wrong,  and  that  was  done  in 
its  usual  thorough-going  fashion.     The  bloody  romance  of 
Ravenna  is  a  notable  chapter  in  its  history.     A  noble  of 
the   country  had   offered  violence   to  a  beautiful  German 
countess   going   on    pilgrimage    to    Rome.      Her    brothers 
carried  the  news  to  the  camp  of    the  freebooters,  whose 
patriotism   was   fired   by   the   outrage    on   their   country- 
woman.    Ravenna    answered    for    the    crime    of    a    petty 
baron,  and  was  desolated  by  fire  and  sword.     That  busi- 
ness being  profitably  settled,  they  swept  round  the  boot 
of  Italy  by  Tarento,  coming  north  again  to  the  very  gates 
of  Naples.     Everything  and  everybody  were  so  helplessl}' 
at  their  mercy  that   the  captains  laid  aside  their  armour, 
and  went  into  quarters  in  the  Neapolitan  chateaux,  varying 
less  innocent  recreations  with  the  pleasures  of  the  chase. 
Northern  Italy  had  had  a  brief  reprieve,  and  now,  when 
money  and  supplies  were  running  short,  they  turned  back 
to    it,    tardily    to    fulfil    their    engagements    against    the 
Visconti.     The   army  of  Milan  was  strong  as  their  own, 
but  then  occurred  one  of   the  incidents  which   made  the 
freebooters    almost    irresistible.       Wolf    would    not    worry 
wolf,  and  the  Visconti's  Germans  deserted  to  the  opposite 
camp.     To  all  seeming  more  masterful  than  before,  they 
were  nevertheless  on  the  brink  of  a  catastrophe.     A  mere 
handful   of   bold  mountaineers  accomplished,  for   a   time, 
what  martial  republics  like  Florence  and  Venice  had  been 
unable   to  effect.     The   Company  demanded   free   passage 
from   the   Florentines,    from   Lombardy   to   Perugia.     The 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  9 

Florentines  stipulated  that  they  should  avoid  the  plains, 
and   take   a   circuitous   route    through  the   passes  oi   the 
Apennines.     The  Company  agreed,  exacting   hostages   for 
its     safety,    and    selecting    the    most    illustrious    citizens 
of  Florence.     Had  it  been  able  to  control  its  marauding 
propensities,  the  bargain  might  have  been  fairly  fulfilled. 
But  the  mountain  villages  were  sacked  and  the  women 
violated  as  usual.     The  peasants,  a  half-savage  race,  and 
strong  in  the  consciousness  of  their  mountain  strongholds, 
planned  such  a  revenge  as  overtook  the  French  in  their 
invasion  of   Free  Tyrol.     The  circumstances  were  almost 
identical.    Lando  led  his  army  into  a  gorge  in  three  divisions, 
placing  the  hostages  in  the  advance.     Fortunately  for  him, 
it   passed  safely,   for   the   saving  of  the   envoys   was  his 
partial  salvation.     It  was  very  different  with   the  centre 
of  his  battle.     Where  frowning  cliffs  overhung  the  abyss, 
the  march  was  stayed  by  some  eighty  peasants.     A  weaker 
force  might  have   held  the  narrow  passage.     At  a  signal 
like   that   of   the   Tyrolese— "  Cut   all  loose  "—rocks  were 
hailed  down  on  the  Company,  hustled  together  by  the  panic- 
stricken   files — a  helpless   mob.       Lando's  lieutenant   was 
crushed  with  his  charger.     The  leader  himself  was  wounded 
and   taken,   though   released,  and   for  once   a  captain   of 
Condottieri  was  put  to  ransom.     The  hostages,  trembling 
for  themselves,  treated  with  De  Cavalette,  who  had  escaped 
with  the  vanguard,  and  the  wrecks  of  the  Grand  Company 
were  secured,  by  the  orders  sent  by  their  prisoners  to  the 
troops  of  the  Signoria. 

Had  it  held  no  hostages,  it  must  have  been  exterminated. 
But  with  a  space  of  breathing-time,  it  was  soon  as  strong 
as  ever.     German  mercenaries  all  over  Italy,  burning  with 


lo  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

desire  for  revenge,  flocked  to  the  standard  of  Lando,  who 
had  recovered  from  his  wounds,  and  the  Pope,  preaching 
a  crusade  against  the  spoilers  of  his  dominions,  did  him 
the  honour  of  solemnly  excommunicating  him.  The  papal 
thunders  fell  harmless,  and  Lando  went  on  pillaging  as 
before,  the  Pope  being  the  chief  sufferer.  The  upshot  was, 
that  the  Cardinal  Albornoz  condescended  to  a  formal 
treaty  with  the  marauders,  to  the  disgust  of  his  Floren- 
tine allies,  for  whom  he  stipulated  without  any  warrant, 
Florence  single-handed  made  a  gallant  stand,  when  the 
petty  tyrants  of  many  a  little  town  rallied  for  once  to  the 
aid  of  a  free  republic.  The  Florentine  army  was  led  by 
Pandolfo  Malatesta  of  Rimini,  who  subsequently  sold 
them  and  played  them  false,  as  was  the  fashion  of  the 
times. 

After  marching  and  counter-marching  in  a  blood- 
less campaign,  there  was  a  dramatic  episode,  character- 
istic of  the  period.  One  day  an  envoy  of  the  Company 
arrived  in  the  Florentine  camp,  to  the  blare  of  trumpets 
and  the  waving  of  flags.  He  threw  down  a  branch  of 
thorn  and  a  blood-stained  glove,  with  a  letter  to  the 
Florentine  general,  challenging  him  to  the  ordeal  of  battle. 
Malatesta  took  the  matter  as  a  joke :  laughing,  he  rode 
out  to  pick  up  the  glove,  declaring  his  acceptance,  and 
dismissing  the  herald  with  a  generous  largesse.  Naturally 
nothing  came  of  it ;  Malatesta  could  not  be  forced  to  a 
pitched  battle.  Operations  dragged  as  before,  but  the 
upshot  was  eventful.  For  once  the  Company  was  cowed 
by  the  firmness  of  the  resistance  and  by  the  general  revolt 
against  their  ruthless  exactions.  Many  of  them  dispersed, 
and  Lando  with  the  rest  withdrew  to  engage  themselves 


THE   CONDOTTIERl  ii 

to  the  Marquis  of  Montserrat,  and  to  abandon  him  soon 
after  for  the  pay  of  the  Visconti. 

Italy  breathed  more  freely  when  the  Company  was  gone, 
but  the  reprieve  was  short.  Distracted  France  had  suffered 
even  worse  things.  In  the  eternal  wars  between  English 
and  French,  the  whole  country,  but  especially  the  South, 
had  been  given  over  to  the  brigand  adventurers.  The 
most  famous  of  them,  such  as  Calverley  and  Gournay,  were 
in  high  honour  at  the  martial  court  of  the  Black  Prince. 
In  Guienne,  Auvergne,  and  Languedoc,  each  petty  noble 
changed  sides  as  suited  him.  Bastards  of  great  houses 
and  younger  sons  assembled  bands  of  lawless  ruffians,  and 
strengthened  themselves  in  one  of  the  almost  impregnable 
rock-fortresses,  whence  they  raided  and  ravaged  at 
their  pleasure.  But  this  game  had  become  hardly  worth 
the  candle.  The  means  of  debauchery  failed  them,  for 
the  country  had  been  swept  clean  :  the  peasants,  starving 
and  desperate,  rose  in  a  jacquerie,  retaliating  on  detached 
parties  with  frightful  atrocities.  There  was  even  a  more 
terrible  enemy  in  the  plague,  which  had  followed  in  the 
train  of  the  famine.  The  regularly  organised  Companies 
(and  there  were  three  of  them)  decided  to  shift  their  quarters 
eastward  to  Provence,  still  comparatively  unscathed,  and 
to  Avignon,  where  lingering  superstition  had  still  secured 
relative  immunity  for  the  wealthy  papal  court.  And  Pro- 
vence and  the  papal  enclave  were  on  the  road  to  Italy. 

The  most  formidable  of  these  three  Companies  was  the 
White,  composed  almost  entirely  of  English.  It  was  the 
first  to  number  its  strength  by  lances,  which  meant  a 
mounted  cavalier  with  two  attendants.  In  reality,  for  the 
most  part,  even  the  lances  fought  on  foot,  and  merely  used 


12  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

their  horses  to  carry  them  with  their  heavy  armour.  They 
wore  weighty  coats  of  mail,  with  arm  and  thigh  pieces, 
and  two  of  them  handled  each  ponderous  lance.  When 
they  fought  on  horseback  and  went  down  in  a  melee,  there 
was  small  chance  of  their  regaining  their  feet.  But  serried 
in  their  close  files,  they  were  an  impenetrable  phalanx. 
Hardened  to  cold,  they  seldom  sheltered  in  winter  quarters. 
They  had  a  habit  of  making  forced  nocturnal  marches, 
fruitful  of  terrible  surprises.  But  as  it  was  their  business 
to  get  their  gains  in  the  cheapest  market,  they  never  wasted 
lives.  As  they  had  none  of  the  newly  invented  cannon, 
they  seldom  attacked  a  strong  fortress  or  a  well-walled 
town.  Indeed,  the  terror  of  them  was  generally  enough 
to  bring  the  place  they  threatened  to  a  composition. 

Sir  John  Hawk  wood  was  by  far  the  most  famous  of 
their  captains.  He  was  not  with  them  when  they  crossed 
the  Cenis  after  their  failure  to  capture  Marseilles,  for  he 
had  fought  at  Brignais  under  Jacques  de  Bourbon,  but 
he  must  have  rejoined  them  shortly  afterwards.  The  son 
of  an  Essex  tanner,  he  had  taken  early  to  arms,  and 
served  with  distinction  in  Edward's  French  wars.  The 
date  of  his  birth  is  uncertain,  but  he  must  have  been  a 
soldier  of  experience  and  repute  when  the  White  Company 
descended  on  Italy.  As  England  gave  a  single  Pope  to 
Rome,  so  it  sent  but  a  single  notable  Condottiere  to  Italy. 
Hawkwood  was  an  extraordinary  man  :  he  had  the  talent 
if  not  the  genius  of  war :  he  was  clever  in  strategy,  fertile 
in  resources,  and  shrewd  in  financial  diplomacy  (backed  up 
by  the  fear  of  the  Company)  as  the  most  subtle  of  Italians. 
His  was  a  thoroughly  practical  mind.  Had  he  had  the 
far-reaching   ambition   of   a   De   Montreal,   he   had   better 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  13 

opportunities  of  carving  out  a  principality,  and  he  might 
have  reigned  in  the  Romagna  as  Francesco  Sforza  in  Milan. 
But  he  knew  too  much  of  the  instability  of  the  dynasties 
he  had  upset,  nor  had  he  an  heir  to  succeed  him.  He  was 
content  to  live  in  luxury  from  day  to  day,  though  econo- 
mising in  place  of  squandering  like  his  colleagues.  While 
annexing  lordships  and  amassing  gold,  he  had  some 
experience  of  the  cares  of  his  scattered  riches,  for  in  the 
vicissitudes  of  a  chequered  career,  they  were  often  making 
themselves  wings.  His  character  is  well  indicated  by  an 
anecdote  told  in  the  novels  of  Sacchetti,  and  by  a  repartee 
much  to  the  point.  The  monks  of  a  convent  received  their 
unwelcome  visitor  with  the  stereotyped  salutation  of 
"  Peace."  Hawkwood  made  rough  and  ready  answer,  "  I 
live  by  war,  and  peace  would  be  my  ruin."  As  for  clemency 
or  consideration  for  the  weak  or  helpless,  there  was  little 
to  choose  between  him  and  the  worst  of  his  predecessors. 
The  Condottiere,  who  gave  his  men  no  regular  pay,  was 
constrained  to  indulge  them  in  all  manner  of  license.  The 
White  Company  robbed,  slaughtered,  violated  and  tortured 
like  the  rest,  but  is  said  to  have  drawn  the  line  at  cold- 
blooded mutilation.  In  any  case,  with  their  formidable 
fighting  qualities,  their  terror  preceded  them,  and  they 
arbitrarily  dictated  the  terms  of  submission. 

For  thirty  years,  with  brief  interludes,  Hawkwood  was 
in  supreme  command,  and  it  would  be  endless  to  follow 
him  in  his  petty  wars  and  the  grasping  bargaining  which 
filled  his  coffers  to  overflowing,  as  it  supplied  the  lavish 
waste  of  the  Free  Companies,  who  revelled  in  profligacy  or 
starved  by  turns.  An  episode  or  two,  taken  at  random, 
may  suffice.     Hawkwood  had  his  vicissitudes,  though  almost 


14  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

invariably  favoured  by  fortune.  Once  it  was  his  fate  to 
be  taken  prisoner  by  the  allied  forces  of  the  Pope  and  Arezzo. 
But  with  ample  means  for  paying  a  ransom,  he  was  free 
again  within  the  year.  His  captors  would  have  done  better 
had  they  dealt  with  him  as  summarily  as  Rienzi  disposed 
of  De  Montreal.  In  1375  the  Company  was  provided  with 
bombards  and  heavy  artillery,  which  strengthened  its 
peremptory  fashions  of  diplomacy  in  treating  with  walled 
cities.  In  a  single  year  Florence  paid  130,000  florins,  and 
Pisa,  Lucca,  and  Arezzo  were  mulcted  in  half  as  much 
again — enormous  sums  sfor  the  time,  showing  the  riches 
of  the  free  republics,  which  could  flourish  in  spite  of  that 
eternal  squeezing.  The  Captain,  or  Grand  Marshal  as  he 
was  sometimes  called,  invested  largely  in  land  :  he  pur- 
chased the  lordships  of  Bagnacavallo  and  Cotignola  in  the 
Romagna,  each  secured  by  a  castle,  strongly  fortified  and 
garrisoned.  Lustful  of  money  as  he  was,  he  was  seldom 
needlessly  cruel,  but  in  1377  he  damned  himself  to  infamy 
by  his  share  in  the  ruthless  massacres  of  Cesena.  It  is  said 
that  he  remonstrated,  but  as  matter  of  fact  the  unhappy 
town  was  abandoned  to  his  English  and  the  half -barbarous 
Bretons  then  acting  in  concert  with  them.  For  three  days 
and  nights  it  was  the  scene  of  ceaseless  bloodshed  and 
unspeakable  atrocities ;  yet  after  all,  and  age  for  age, 
there  was  little  to  choose  between  the  fate  of  Cesena  and 
the  storm  of  Badajoz  or  San  Sebastian. 

By  way  of  interlude,  or  to  strengthen  his  position,  the 
Condottiere  married  the  natural  daughter  of  Bernabo  Vis- 
conti  of  Milan.  This  connection  and  lucrative  offers  from 
the  Florentines  centred  his  interests  in  Northern  Italy. 
Finding  his  southern  lordships  difficult  to  defend  against 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  15 

the  enemies  who  sprung  up  everywhere  when  his  back 
was  turned,  he  sold  them  for  a  satisfactory  price  to  the 
d'Estes.  In  the  contracts  still  existing  there  are  minute 
details  as  to  the  terms  of  a  virtual  sale  which  was  plausibly 
disguised  as  a  mortgage.  But  though  the  Company  had 
shifted  its  headquarters,  it  was  still  and  for  ever  on  the 
move.  The  Pope,  though  pleased  to  get  rid  of  a  formidable 
feudatory  and  turbulent  neighbour,  engaged  Hawkwood 
for  an  invasion  of  Naples.  Papal  thunders  had  more  than 
once  excommunicated  the  Companies.  Now  Urban  VI.,  in 
signing  his  commission,  addressed  the  outlaw  as  his  be- 
loved son,  giving  him  carte  blanche  in  effect  to  ravage  Cam- 
pania. Soon  the  scene  shifts  again  to  the  North.  There 
was  a  revolution  at  Milan.  With  the  habitual  disregard  of 
the  Viscontis  for  family  ties,  Bernabo  Visconti  had  been 
dethroned  by  his  nephew.  It  might  have  been  expected 
that  Hawkwood  would  have  stood  by  his  father-in-law, 
with  whom,  moreover,  he  was  in  close  alliance,  the  rather 
that  Bemabo's  sons,  knowing  his  cupidity,  offered  him 
handsome  pay  to  come  to  their  help.  But  Hawkwood 
had  his  own  game  to  play,  and  he  made  his  bargain  with 
the  usurper.  There  must  have  been  hidden  motives,  for 
the  mystery  is  that  the  price  of  his  shameful  perfidy  was  a 
comparative  bagatelle. 

With  consent  of  the  Florentines,  with  whom  thence- 
forth he  had  a  sort  of  engagement,  akin  to  that  of  a  stand- 
ing counsel,  he  espoused  the  cause  of  da  Carrara,  Lord  of 
Padua.  Before  the  battle  of  Castagnaro  an  incident  occurs 
which  shows  that  he  had  something  of  the  subtlety  of  the 
serpent.  He  was  not  precisely  pious,  but  the  Paduans 
were  superstitious,  so  before  going  into  action  he  solemnly 


i6  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

invoked  the  aid  of  their  four  patron  saints,  and  his  prayers 
were  answered.  Returning  in  triumph  to  the  Florentines, 
who,  as  he  well  knew,  were  best  able  to  reward  useful 
service,  the  Condottiere  (and  for  the  first  time,  in  the  case 
of  a  foreigner)  had  the  distinguished  honour  of  being 
gazetted  Captain-General  of  their  armies.  He  was  nowise 
particular  as  to  giving  promises,  which  the  leader  of 
mercenaries,  with  the  best  intentions,  was  quite  unable  to 
keep.  He  had  pledged  himself  to  the  Signoria  to  respect 
their  allies,  and  forthwith  he  exacted  4000  florins  from 
the  friendly  Siennese.  Nor  was  he  more  conformable  to 
the  wishes  of  his  paymasters  when  they  would  have  re- 
called him  from  a  fruitless  campaign  in  Naples. 

He  would  have  his  way,  but  on  the  whole  he  was 
faithful,  and  neither  he  nor  they  could  afford  to  quarrel. 
He  had  daughters  of  fourteen  and  fifteen  who  were  marriage- 
able, and  he  desired  to  see  them  settled  in  life.  The 
Signoria  dowered  them  handsomely,  and  even  paid  for 
their  trousseaux  when  the  Condottiere  drew  his  purse- 
strings  and  declined.  Nothing  shows  more  strikingly  the 
esteem  or  terror  in  which  he  was  held  than  the  fact  that 
the  great  Signorias  of  Florence  and  Bologna  acted  as 
arbiters  in  settling  the  terms  of  the  marriage  contracts. 
He  had  spent  much  and  probably  had  saved  little,  and  the 
Signoria  was  not  ungrateful  for  what  on  the  whole  had 
been  good  service.  As  Captain-General  he  had  handsome 
pay  and  appointments,  and  even  when  half-superannuated, 
they  continued  to  him  liberal  allowances.  What  is  more, 
when  his  health  was  failing,  they  voted  him  a  magnificent 
tomb  in  the  greatest  of  their  churches,  which  must  have 
been  inexpressibly  cheering  to  a  man  who  had  lived  for 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  17 

this  world  more  than  the  other.  As  death  took  him  by 
surprise,  the  tomb  was  never  erected.  In  1394  he  had 
arranged  to  return  to  his  native  England,  when  a  stroke 
of  apoplexy  carried  him  off.  Florence  gave  him  a  public 
funeral  with  military  honours,  but  his  remains  were  not 
to  rest  in  the  Duomo,  though  a  frescoed  portrait  with  a 
noble  equestrian  figure  was  to  keep  his  memory  green. 
King  Richard  II.  begged  the  body,  and  the  Florentines 
courteously  acceded  to  the  request.  Hawkwood's  remains 
are  believed  to  rest  in  the  church  of  his  native  parish  of 
Sible  Hedingham.  He  is  said  to  have  fought  twenty- 
three  battles— such  as  these  mediaeval  battles  were— and 
to  have  been  only  vanquished  in  one  of  them. 

Carmagnola 

Carmagnola  took  what  was  hterally  a  nom  de  guerre 

from  the  town  of  his  birth  ;    he  was  born  a  Bussone  and 

baptized  Francesco.     Few  miUtary  adventurers  were  more 

fortunate  in  their  start  ;  with  none  was  the  lustre  of  a  brief 

and   brilhant  career  more  suddenly  eclipsed  in  a  tragical 

denouement.     Philippo  Maria  Visconti,  Duke  of  Milan,  had 

succeeded  his   father,  the   famous  Gian   Galeazzo,  after   a 

long  minority.     Galeazzo  was  no  soldier,  but  at  least  he 

had  courage.     His  son  inherited  his  ambition  and  subtlety 

without  the  courage,  but  he  had  the  same  happy  gift  of 

choosing  his  generals  well,  and  when  he  trusted,  he  gave 

them  his  entire  confidence.     At  once  he  had  plunged  into 

war  to  recover  the   country  which   in  his  minority  had 

revolted  from  his  rule.     Looking  on  at  the  siege  of  Monza, 

a  young   soldier  had   attracted  his  notice  by  a  deed  of 

B 


1 8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

singular  daring.  Following  up  a  kinsman  but  a  bitter 
enemy,  he  had  only  failed  to  capture  him  by  the  fall  of 
his  horse.  Carmagnola,  for  it  was  he,  had  something  like 
Oriental  promotion.  Advanced  at  once  to  responsible 
command,  soon  afterwards  he  was  at  the  head  of  the 
Milanese  armies.  His  successes  were  as  swift  as  they  were 
sure.  He  overran  the  revolted  country  to  the  north  of 
Milan,  starving  the  castles  and  seizing  the  cities.  His 
triumphant  progress  alarmed  the  Lombard  lords  to  the 
eastward ;  there  was  a  formidable  league,  headed  by 
Arcelli  of  Plasencia,  reputed  one  of  the  most  able  warriors 
of  the  time.  The  leaders  were  well  matched,  but  the 
victory  rested  with  Carmagnola. 

Nor  was  he  less  successful  against  the  Genoese,  though 
Genoa,  the  commercial  rival  of  Venice,  was  then  at  the 
height  of  its  power  and  prosperity.  But  it  was  troubled 
with  the  invariable  dissensions  and  conspiracies,  when  some 
noble  refugees  sought  the  protection  of  the  Visconti,  who 
gladly  seized  the  occasion  to  go  to  war.  Carmagnola 
struck  sharp  and  quick,  overrunning  all  the  Genoese 
territory  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  mountains.  Year 
after  year  he  was  a  thorn  in  their  sides,  making  inroads 
on  the  seaboard  and  threatening  their  capital.  Attacked 
simultaneously  by  Alfonso  of  Aragon  and  reduced  to 
financial  extremity,  they  sold  Leghorn  to  the  Florentines 
for  a  great  sum.  Assailed  by  sea  as  well  as  by  land,  they 
felt  the  war  must  be  ended  on  any  terms.  They  detested 
the  Aragonese,  whose  navy  had  brought  them  to  grief, 
but  seem  to  have  borne  no  malice  to  Carmagnola,  who 
only  fought  them  in  the  way  of  business.  The  Doge 
resigned  his  office,  signing  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Milan, 


f^        crT>-i- 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  19 

and,  by  one  of  the  strangest  vicissitudes  of  mediaeval  Italian 
warfare,  Carmagnola,  the  captain  of  the  Visconti's  army, 
became  virtually  Doge  of  Genoa  as  the  Visconti's  lieutenant. 
Venice,  always  cautious  and  time-serving,  thought  it 
wise  to  come  to  terms  with  the  Visconti,  and,  in  the  fashion 
of  those  Italian  states,  shamelessly  abandoned  its  allies. 
He  consented  to  a  ten  years'  peace,  and  Pandolfo  Malatesta, 
then  Lord  of  Brescia  and  Bergamo,  was  the  immediate 
victim.  Carmagnola,  with  his  accustomed  impetuosity, 
rushed  his  cities  and  seized  his  territory.  Thanks  to  that 
terrible  captain,  Philippo  Maria  had  then  recovered  all 
the  dominions  the  regents  of  his  minority  had  lost.  Then 
Carmagnola  pushed  his  victories  beyond  the  northern 
boundaries  of  Lombardy.  Storming  Como,  he  occupied 
the  entrances  to  the  passes  of  the  Simplon  and  St.  Gothard, 
The  Swiss  took  alarm,  and  the  southern  cantons  hurried 
to  the  rescue,  sending  an  urgent  summons  to  their  con- 
federates for  support.  Though  comparatively  few  in 
numbers,  with  characteristic  courage  and  foolhardiness  they 
did  not  scout  in  advance,  or  wait  to  count  their  enemies. 
They  were  really  opposed  to  an  army  in  overwhelming 
strength,  headed  by  Carmagnola  and  Angelo  de  la  Pergola, 
the  two  most  redoubtable  Condottieri  of  the  day.  Out- 
numbered as  they  were,  they  maintained  the  reputation  of 
their  impregnable  phalanx  of  pikemen,  and  of  the  ponderous 
two-handed  swords,  which  had  won  Morgarten  and  were 
to  win  Grandson  against  mailed  chivalry  and  formidable 
odds.  The  battle  was  long  and  bloody,  and  would  have 
been  lost  to  the  Milanese,  had  not  an  inspiration  of  Car- 
magnola's  in  the  crisis  dismounted  his  horsemen,  and, 
adopting  the  Swiss  tactics,  formed  them  up  on  foot.     As 


20  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

it  was,  the  battle  was  drawn  and  honours  were  divided; 
but  Carmagnola  retained  his  grasp  on  the  passes. 

Then,  when  his  reputation  should  have  stood  highest 
at  the  Court,  events  occurred  which  changed  his  destiny. 
The  Duke,  constitutionally  sage,  blind  for  once  to  his  own 
interests,  committed  an  act  of  folly.  It  was  wise  enough 
to  make  alliance  with  the  Queen  of  Naples  and  the  Pope 
against  the  Aragonese,  who  menaced  all  three.  Through 
the  influence  of  Carmagnola,  the  virtual  Doge,  he  easily 
enlisted  the  assistance  of  the  Genoese,  who  detested  the 
Catalans,  their  commercial  rivals.  Genoa  launched  a 
powerful  fleet,  to  be  sent  to  Neapolitan  waters.  Carmagnola 
fully  expected  the  command,  but  to  his  disgust,  and  for 
some  inexplicable  reason,  it  was  given  to  Torallo,  a  new 
favourite.  Torallo  was  no  bad  choice,  but  the  supersession 
of  Carmagnola  had  far-reaching  consequences. 

The  free  republic  of  Florence,  dreading  the  masterful 
Visconti  and  his  allies,  leagued  itself  with  the  Aragonese, 
and  with  many  a  minor  tyrant  who  feared  the  Duke  and 
his  formidable  general.  In  its  alarm  it  appealed  to  the 
Emperor,  but  Sigismund  was  occupied  elsewhere  ;  and  to  the 
Pope,  but  he  held  to  the  coaUtion  and  turned  a  deaf  ear. 
With  Venice  it  was  more  successful,  and  Venice  was  shaken, 
for  though  the  treaty  with  Milan  had  still  half  its  term  to 
run,  it  knew  that  the  Duke  was  not  to  be  trusted.  The 
wavering  policy  of  the  Council  of  Ten  was  decided  by 
a  most  unlooked-for  arrival.  Of  all  refugees,  the  one 
they  least  expected  to  see  was  Carmagnola,  the  right 
hand  of  the  tyrant  of  Lombardy,  and  the  leader  of  the 
Condottieri  who  had  indirectly  done  them  infinite  injury. 
He  explained  his  arrival  to  mistrustful  ears.     The  Duke 


THE    CONDOTTIERI  21 

had  envied  him  the  wealth  he  had  amassed  and  his  credit 
with  the  soldiers  he  had  so  often  led  to  victory,  as  his 
services  had  been  too  great  to  be  easily  forgiven.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  disgrace  was  real,  and  Carmagnola  had 
been  subjected  to  insults  which  would  have  been  intoler- 
able to  a  less  haughty  spirit.  His  wife  and  children  had 
been  thrown  into  prison,  and  he  had  escaped  at  the  head 
of  a  troop  of  horse,  making  his  way  to  Venice  by  Savoy 
and  Switzerland.  Nevertheless  the  suspicious  Senate  was 
not  convinced  that  he  was  not  playing  a  part  in  concert 
with  his  late  master,  tiU  the  Duke  was  guilty  of  a  crime 
and  another  blunder.  He  attempted  to  have  Carmagnola 
poisoned  :  the  attempt  failed  and  was  traced  to  its  author. 

Once  Venice  was  assured  of  Carmagnola's  good  faith, 
the  Florentine  envoys  found  a  weighty  advocate.  They  had 
urged  that,  if  Florence  were  crushed,  the  fall  of  Venice 
would  follow,  and  that  the  Duke  of  Milan  would  be  the 
tyrant  of  Italy.  Carmagnola  argued  that  the  Duke  was 
less  formidable  than  appeared.  He  painted  him  as  a 
faineant,  devoted  to  pleasure,  guided  by  unpopular  ministers, 
and  deaf  to  popular  complaints.  He  disclosed  his  most 
secret  intrigues  and  plots.  For  himself,  he  said,  he  had 
sought  and  found  a  new  country,  and  he  wound  up  with 
an  eloquent  and  practical  peroration.  "  I  bring  you  my 
profession,  which  is  war.  Give  me  arms,  as  he  gave  who 
has  driven  me  to  this  hard  necessity,  and  you  shall  see 
if  I  cannot  defend  you  and  avenge  myself."  The  appeal 
was  irresistible  ;  the  treaty  with  Florence  was  signed,  and 
Carmagnola  was  the  captain  of  the  Venetian  army. 

The  campaign  began  with  the  capture  of  Brescia,  though 
he  was  confronted  by  his  old  comrades  of  the  Condottieri, 


22  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  in  greatly  superior  strength.  The  effects  of  its  fall  on 
the  Duke  were  out  of  proportion  to  the  actual  loss,  and 
he  repented  too  late  his  quarrel  with  Carmagnola.  He 
was  partially  reassured  by  a  reverse  of  the  enemy,  which 
temporarily  changed  the  course  of  the  war.  Carmagnola, 
who  had  hitherto  always  combined  caution  with  daring, 
let  himself  be  surprised,  and  suffered  severely.  But  to  the 
last  he  was  ever  ready  to  learn,  and  thenceforth  the  camps 
he  was  perpetually  shifting  were  always  entrenched  and 
guarded  by  patrols.  For  his  movements  were  as  swift  as 
secret ;  the  surprises  were  for  the  most  part  on  his  side, 
and  his  orders  commanded  unquestioning  obedience. 

He  brought  things  to  a  crisis  in  a  pitched  battle  which 
was  a  crushing  defeat  for  Milan  and  pregnant  of  conse- 
quences for  himself.  With  trifling  losses  he  took  8000 
prisoners,  who  immediately  fraternised  with  his  troops, 
their  frequent  brothers-in-arms.  Hospitably  entertained, 
they  were  dismissed  without  ransom,  to  the  natural  disgust 
of  the  mercantile  Venetians.  As  naturally,  Carmagnola 
became  again  suspect,  and  suspicions  were  confirmed  when, 
contrary  to  peremptory  orders,  he  set  at  Hberty  the 
handful  of  captives  who  remained.  Suspicions  may  have 
seemed  certainties  with  the  ever-distrustful  Council  of  Ten, 
when  he  insisted  on  stipulations  of  his  own  in  a  new 
treaty  with  the  Milanese.  The  Duke  undertook  to  restore 
the  wealth  he  had  confiscated,  his  lands,  and  his  captive 
wife  and  daughters.  A  peace  had  been  concluded  of  which 
Carmagnola  had  virtually  dictated  the  terms,  but  it  was 
soon  again  to  be  broken.  Successful  land- wars,  from  which 
Venice  had  hitherto  invariably  refrained,  had  awakened 
new  ambitions.     There  were  proffers  of  alliance  from  the 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  23 

petty  princes  whom  the  Duke  had  subjugated ;  Florence, 
above  all,  had  been  urgent  in  her  advances,  and  Car- 
magnola  was  again  in  the  field.  It  was  his  last  campaign, 
and  unfortunate  in  every  way.  Trusting  to  his  old 
ascendency  over  the  Milanese,  he  attempted  corruption,  as 
he  had  done  before,  and  when  he  tried  corruption  he  was 
always  betrayed.  Twice  he  was  lured  into  fatal  ambus- 
cades. Yet  these  were  merely  side  issues,  and  at  the 
head  of  such  a  numerous  army  as  he  had  never  commanded 
before,  he  should  have  carried  all  before  him.  But  now 
he  was  strangely  and  suspiciously  supine.  Keeping  pace 
with  a  powerful  fleet  ascending  the  Po,  he  may  be  said  to 
have  looked  on  while  the  Venetian  admiral,  after  a  battle 
that  maintained  the  fame  of  the  Venetian  fleets,  sustained 
a  disastrous  defeat.  He  made  more  or  less  plausible 
excuses  as  to  the  flooding  of  the  country,  and  an  epidemic 
among  the  horses  which  had  dismounted  his  men-at-arms. 
The  Council  professed  a  belief  in  them,  which  assuredly 
they  did  not  feel.  They  acted  with  their  habitual  cold- 
blooded craft,  and  the  illustrious  victim  was  doomed  in 
advance.  He  was  invited  to  Venice  to  consult  as  to  con- 
ditions of  renewing  the  peace.  He  was  received  with  every 
honour,  welcomed  by  the  most  distinguished  senators,  and 
amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  crowd,  the  popular  hero 
passed  along  the  Grand  Canal  in  a  state  gondola  to  the 
ducal  palace.  The  consultations  of  the  assembled  Senate 
lasted  till  late  into  the  night,  and  then  they  courteously 
asked  Carmagnola  to  dismiss  his  wearied  suite.  As  one 
door  closed  on  his  attendants,  the  Doge's  guards  entered 
by  another.  The  great  captain  was  loaded  with  fetters, 
and  consigned  to  the  dungeon,  where  next  day,  with  an 


24  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

unhealed  wound  received  in  the  service  of  the  Republic, 
he  was  subjected  to  the  torture.  It  was  said  he  made 
confession  of  his  guilt,  but  we  have  only  his  executioners' 
word  for  that.  The  day  after  that,  with  a  gag  in  his 
mouth,  he  passed  from  the  prison  to  the  Piazza  of  St.  Mark, 
where  his  head  fell  on  the  block.  Criminal  he  may  pos- 
sibly have  been,  for  we  know  the  laxity  of  the  Condottieri 
on  the  point  of  honour  when  their  interests  were  involved. 
But  that  he  was  never  publicly  put  on  his  defence  is  a 
strong  presumption  in  favour  of  his  innocence.  He  had 
gone  the  way  so  many  went  before,  when  malice  had  dropped 
anonymous  and  slanderous  accusation  in  the  Lion's  Mouth. 

"Thro'  that  door. 
So  soon  to  cry,  smiting  his  brow,  '  I'm  lost ! ' 
Was  with  all  courtesy,  all  honour,  shown 
The  great  and  noble  Captain,  Carmagnola." 

Francesco  Sforza 

Carmagnola  came  to  a  tragic  end.  Francesco  Sforza, 
who  had  often  faced  him  in  the  field,  died  in  the  seat  of 
Galeazzo  Visconti,  the  Duke  of  Milan.  Carmagnola  began 
as  a  private  soldier ;  Francesco  Sforza  started  with 
opportunities  which  he  improved  to  the  uttermost.  He 
inherited  the  wealth,  the  fame,  and  the  following  of  Sforza 
Attendolo,  the  man  of  the  legend  of  the  axe.  The  elder 
Sforza,  baptized  Muzio  Attendolo,  is  said  to  have  got  his 
prenomen  from  Bartiano,  his  master  in  war,  another  re- 
doubtable Condottiere.  It  is  said  to  have  been  given  for 
his  great  bodily  strength,  backed  by  a  fiery  violence  of 
character.  His  son,  as  he  was  bred  in  the  camp,  was 
trained  up  in  the  saddle.     Ere  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  a 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  25 

boy  of  mark,  and  had  a  piece  of  miraculous  good  fortune. 
A  handsome  lad,  he  had  taken  the  fancy  of  Ladislaus  of 
Naples,  and,  with  the  title  and  fief  of  a  viscount,  was  sent 
to  Calabria  as  viceroy  of  the  sovereign.  Boy  as  he  was, 
he  justified  the  choice,  and  already  showed  the  talent  of  a 
formidable  leader.  An  excellent  match,  his  father  wedded 
him  to  Polyxena  Ruifi,  a  beautiful  girl  of  high  birth  and 
large  possessions.  The  old  Condottiere  gave  the  young 
bridegroom  excellent  advice,  inculcating  a  wise  leniency  in 
rule  and  the  strict  observance  of  justice.  Perhaps  the 
most  suggestive  warning  was,  that  if  he  was  ever  betrayed 
into  striking  one  of  his  guards  he  should  immediately  get 
rid  of  the  man.  The  elder  Sforza  was  then  at  the  height 
of  his  power.  With  consent  of  the  Queen  of  Naples  he 
had  entered  the  service  of  Pope  Martin  V.,  with  the  title 
of  Gonfaloniere  of  the  Church.  Martin  had  engaged  Sforza 
by  large  pay  and  liberal  promises  as  the  warrior  best  fitted 
to  cope  with  Braccio  da  Mortare,  the  Lord  of  Perugia.  The 
campaign  opened  disastrously  for  Sforza ;  he  was  out- 
numbered, out-manoeuvred,  and  beaten.  In  his  distress  he 
summoned  Francesco  to  his  aid,  showing  the  faith  he  had 
in  the  boy's  ability.  The  war  dragged  on  with  changing 
fortunes,  when  a  timely  incident  in  the  year  of  his  father's 
death  showed  to  all  men  how  well  his  son  was  fitted  to 
succeed  him  in  command.  The  younger  Sforza  had  been 
called  back  to  Calabria  to  repel  an  invasion,  when  he  was 
threatened  by  a  mutiny  of  his  captains,  who  had  probably 
been  bribed  by  the  gold  of  Aragon.  With  the  courtesy  of 
Condottieri  playing  the  game  honourably,  they  formally  an- 
nounced their  purpose  of  abandoning  him.  Francesco  made 
no  objections ;  he  merely  asked  them  to  save  his  reputa- 


26  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

tion  by  remaining  till  he  could  withdraw  creditably  from 
before  the  enemy.  Without  loss  of  a  moment  messengers 
were  sent  to  his  father  and  to  another  of  his  father's 
captains,  demanding  immediate  succour.  Supports  came 
up,  when  forthwith  he  attacked  and  captured  the  traitors. 
An  ordinary  leader  would  have  given  them  short  shrift, 
and  indeed  there  came  peremptory  letters  from  the  elder 
Sforza  ordering  their  immediate  despatch.  But  Francesco 
understood  the  weaknesses  of  venal  mercenaries  whom  he 
hoped  to  use  on  future  occasions.  He  called  the  prisoners 
to  his  tent,  gave  them  free  pardon,  and  told  them  they 
might  go  or  stay  as  they  pleased.  If  it  pleased  them  to 
stay,  their  offence  should  be  forgotten.  They  remained  to 
a  man,  and  perhaps  that  calculated  generosity  was  the 
turning-point  of  his  career. 

For  a  few  months  later  found  him  in  a  still  more  critical 
predicament.  His  father,  who  had  come  unscathed  through 
many  a  combat,  met  a  dramatic  death  in  the  flooded 
Pescara.  Face  to  face  with  Braccio  on  the  further  bank, 
he  would  insist  on  fording  it  where  the  flow  of  the  tide 
had  met  the  rush  of  the  river.  He  had  crossed  in  safety 
when  he  returned  to  bring  up  the  hesitating  loiterers. 
The  second  passage  was  fatal.  He  had  stooped  to  lend  a 
hand  to  a  drowning  soldier,  when  his  horse  lost  its  footing. 
The  last  that  was  seen  of  the  mail-clad  rider  was  his 
gauntleted  hands  clasped  in  prayer  above  the  stream. 
His  son  was  already  far  ahead,  pursuing  the  enemy  he 
had  driven  out  of  their  entrenchments.  The  tidings,  when 
they  reached  him,  struck  a  double  blow,  for  he  seems  to 
have  been  sincerely  attached  to  his  father,  and  he  knew, 
besides,  how  his  forces  might  scatter  on  his  death.     But 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  27 

he  never  lost  sight  of  his  ambitions,  and  the  youth  of 
twenty-three  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  His  trumpets 
sounded  the  retreat,  and  he  fell  back  on  the  river.  He 
had  nearly  shared  his  father's  fate  when,  throwing  himself 
into  a  leaky  boat,  he  launched  out  with  a  single  oar  to 
the  aid  of  some  of  his  sinking  followers.  The  gallant 
rescue  was  witnessed  by  all,  and  when  he  landed  he  called 
a  meeting  of  his  captains.  Then  he  made  them  an  eloquent 
address,  appealing  alike  to  their  cupidity  and  to  their 
loyalty  to  their  lost  brother-in-arms.  The  appeal  was 
answered  with  acclamations,  and  all  swore  fidelity.  He 
lost  no  time  in  putting  them  to  the  test,  marching  in 
succession  to  take  possession  of  all  the  fiefs  which  acknow- 
ledged his  father's  sovereignty. 

His  was  the  only  Company  in  the  South  which  could 
make  head  against  the  strength  of  Braccio,  and  already 
his  reputation  was  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  veteran. 
The  most  seductive  offers  were  made  to  him,  and  he  was 
invited  to  choose  between  Florence  and  Milan.  As  his 
fixed  ambition  was  to  reign,  he  decided  with  good  reason 
for  the  latter  alUance.  The  factious  Florentines,  with  their 
inveterate  love  of  freedom,  offered  no  safe  seat  to  a  military 
despot.  The  distracted  Milanese,  on  the  contrary,  largely 
made  up  of  recent  conquests,  had  already  passed  under 
the  rule  of  mihtary  adventurers,  and  offered  a  hopeful 
prospect  of  being  consohdated  under  a  strong  dynasty. 
There  were  possibilities  and  opportunities.  Accordingly 
to  Milan  he  marched,  to  place  himself  at  the  Duke's  dis- 
posal, and  the  event  was  to  prove  the  sagacity  of  the 
decision.  The  Duke  took  a  fancy  to  him  from  the  first, 
as  the  man  who  might  fill  the  place  of  Carmagnola. 


2  8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

But  the  youth  was  not  placed  in  supreme  command, 
and  his  beginnings  were  not  fortunate.  The  dissensions 
and  jealousies  which  gave  Carmagnola  his  triumph,  baulked 
his  plans  for  the  rehef  of  Brescia.  Philippo  Maria  for  once 
was  indiscreet  in  his  selection  of  generals  when  he  pre- 
ferred Malatesta,  who  was  no  match  for  Carmagnola  either 
in  skill  or  craft.  More  than  once  disaster  might  have 
been  avoided,  had  the  Duke  listened  to  Sforza's  warnings. 
Possibly  Sforza  resented  the  preference  of  Malatesta  and 
the  neglect  of  his  own  advice.  Certain  it  is,  that  he  was 
strongly  suspected  of  treachery  when  he  failed  in  an 
expedition,  under  his  independent  command,  for  the  relief 
of  Genoa,  then  closely  beleaguered.  Yet  it  is  unlikely  that, 
with  his  far-reaching  views,  he  would  have  compromised 
his  reputation  for  a  revenge  which  must  recoil  on  himself. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  for  two  years  he  was  out  of  favour,  if 
not  in  absolute  disgrace.  It  was  not  long  before  the  roles 
were  reversed,  and  the  Condottiere  was  courted  by  the  Duke. 

Still  nominally  in  the  Duke's  service,  he  had  with- 
drawn into  winter  quarters,  and  though  no  pay  was  forth- 
coming, it  is  remarkable  that  none  of  his  mercenaries 
deserted.  His  forces  were  undiminished  when  the  Duke 
made  the  first  overtures,  and  prompted  him  to  invade 
Tuscany,  nominally  on  his  own  account.  The  Florentines 
bought  him  off,  but  he  declined  to  enter  their  service. 
His  settled  aspirations  kept  him  steady  to  his  purposes. 
Again  he  was  more  in  favour  than  ever  with  the  Duke, 
either  from  genuine  liking  or  the  sense  of  self-interest.  At 
any  rate  he  had  a  splendid  retaining  fee  in  the  promise  of 
the  hand  of  the  Duke's  natural  daughter  and  presumptive 
heiress.     His   next   exploit   was   invading   Montserrat   and 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  29 

driving  the  Marquis  out  of  all  his  dominions.  He  returned 
to  Milan  in  triumph,  to  be  betrothed  to  the  Princess  Bianca 
Maria,  who  was  scarcely  out  of  the  nursery. 

With  that  betrothal,  and  after  the  brilliant  campaign 
of  1432,  his  future  was  assured.     The  wars  he  waged  for 
Pope   Eugenius   in   the   Papal   States   enabled   the   Papal 
Gonfaloniere  to  add  other  lands  and  townships  to  his  broad 
southern  fiefs.     Great  as  were  his  military  talents,  he  had 
to  face  such  dangerous  opponents  as  the  famous  Piccinino ; 
but  though  he  met  with  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of  war, 
he  always  rallied  after  misfortune,  and  Hke  Antaeus,  arose 
the  stronger  for  a  fall.     Finding  that  his  old  master  at 
Milan  needed  him  more  than  he  needed  the  Duke,  and 
seeing  that  the  Duke  was  bound  to  him  by  the  solemn 
betrothal,  he  indulged  in  the  liberty  and  even  the  license 
of  policy  and  intrigue.     Though  it  is  said  that  no  man  can 
serve  two  masters,  he  played  fast  and  loose  successfully 
with  both  Pope  and  Duke,  though  he  bore  the  standard 
of  the  one  and  drew  pay  from  the  other.     Ancona  was 
claimed  by  his  Holiness  and  coveted  by  the  Duke.      In 
defiance  of  both,  the  Gonfaloniere  made  himself  a  princi- 
pahty  there,  adding  largely  to  his  former  possessions.     In 
less  than  twenty  years  the   son  of  the  woodman   turned 
freebooter  had  far  outstripped  all  his  veteran  competitors. 
He  held  in  his  hand  the  issues  of  war  or  peace  between 
Venice  and  Florence,  the  Visconti  and  the  Pope  :    as  he 
leant  to  one  or  the  other,  so  the  balance  inclined.     Still 
Condottiere  at  heart,  he  went  on  the  wise  principle  of  always 
leaving  everywhere  the  seeds  of  future  broils.     In  the  full 
course  of  victory  he  stopped  short  of  giving  any  side  a 
decisive  advantage.     The  Duke  was  jealous  of  the  man 


30  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

he  had  raised  to  become  virtual  arbitrator  of  the  factions 
of  Italy.  But  he  could  not  afford  to  break  with  his  future 
son-in-law,  who  always  dealt  kindly  with  him  in  a  view 
to  the  succession.  And  the  Pope  was  in  similar  case  ; 
he  dared  not  offend  his  Gonfaloniere.  So,  as  Bianca  Maria 
was  now  marriageable,  the  wedding  was  celebrated  at 
Ancona — Sforza  had  just  captured  it — with  magnificent 
ceremony  and  much  martial  pomp.  The  pair  had  the 
papal  benediction,  and  the  bridegroom  the  reversion  of 
the  rich  Milanese. 

The  succession  opened  with  the  death  of  his  father- 
in-law,  shortly  afterwards,  in  the  summer  of  1447,  but  it 
cost  him  an  arduous  struggle,  and  taxed  his  astuteness  to 
the  utmost.  There  were  factions  in  Milan ;  his  was  in  the 
majority,  but  there  was  a  minority  that  desired  the  freedom 
of  a  republic.  Sforza  was  still  the  leader  of  their  armies, 
and,  guarding  the  passages  of  the  Po  against  Venice,  he 
distinguished  himself  by  the  brilliant  capture  of  Piacenza, 
disgracing  himself  for  once  by  his  merciless  abuse  of  his 
victory.  For  forty  days  the  unhappy  town  was  given 
over  to  pillage  and  all  manner  of  outrages.  The  cruelty 
recoiled  on  himself  ;  the  Milanese  went  in  terror  of  their 
formidable  general,  and  hesitated  more  than  before  to  give 
themselves  to  such  a  master.  But  when  Sforza  found  his 
future  subjects  troublesome,  he  invariably  achieved  some 
exploit  to  make  them  feel  him  indispensable.  The  sequel 
to  the  ruthless  sack  of  Piacenza  was  the  great  victory  of 
Caravaggio,  when  the  Venetians  were  put  to  hopeless  rout. 
Orders  were  regularly  sent  him  from  the  Council  of  Milan, 
which  he  obeyed,  ignored,  or  eluded,  as  suited  his  pohcy. 
When  it  served  his  purposes  he  carried  them  out  with 


THE   CONDOTTIERI  31 

infinite  promptitude  and  resolution.  Friends  and  enemies 
in  the  capital  were  always  asking  alike  whether  their  general 
was  false  or  faithful.  So,  in  the  excitement  over  that 
crushing  blow  he  had  struck  at  Caravaggio,  when  he  made 
his  triumphant  entry  into  Milan  the  victory  was  acclaimed 
by  enthusiastic  crowds.  The  frenzy  of  jubilation  was 
followed  by  reaction.  Then,  persuaded  that  the  duchy 
was  not  to  be  won  by  fair  means,  he  decided  to  take  it 
by  force.  He  changed  front  of  a  sudden,  and  had  recourse 
to  a  stroke  of  policy — policy  singularly  audacious  even 
for  those  times,  for  which  Sismondi  suggests,  apparently 
with  insufficient  reason,  that  he  had  been  preparing  since 
he  first  engaged  himself  to  the  Visconti; — insufficient, 
because  the  shrewdest  man  could  not  have  foreseen  the 
incalculable  changes  of  the  Italian  kaleidoscope.  On  his 
own  account  he  made  peace  with  Venice,  admitting  the 
Florentines  as  a  third  party,  for  at  Florence  Cosmo  de  Medici 
was  his  firm  friend.  His  stipulation  was  that  the  allies 
should  assure  him  his  wife's  inheritance  and  make  him  the 
sovereign  ruler  of  Milan.  Whether  it  was  an  act  of  treachery 
or  of  legitimate  self-defence,  he  was  only  intriguing  among 
intriguers  with  superior  astuteness. 

Soon  the  Milanese  had  reason  to  regret  his  desertion 
and  repent  their  quarrels  with  him.  He  overran  the 
districts  around  the  city,  blocked  their  access  to  markets, 
and  cut  off  their  water.  Reduced  to  straits  which  resulted 
in  discord  and  riots,  they  were  encouraged  again  when 
Venice,  always  vacillating,  abandoned  the  traitor  and 
actually  took  the  field  against  him.  The  Florentines  now 
stood  aloof  from  both,  and  he  had  only  underhand  subsidies 
from  his  friend  Cosmo.     They  had  all  mistaken  tlie  genius 


32  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

of  Sforza,  if  they  thought  he  would  not  rise  to  the  occasion. 
On  the  one  hand  he  held  the  Venetians  at  bay,  on  the  other 
he  strengthened  the  blockade  of  Milan.  Tantalised  by 
hopes  of  effective  success  which  were  as  often  disappointed, 
at  last  the  famishing  city  surrendered.  Sforza  rode  in  at 
the  head  of  his  men-at-arms,  when  the  fickle  demos 
welcomed,  with  what  seemed  unfeigned  rejoicing,  the 
man  who  had  starved  them  for  more  than  a  year,  and 
the  mere  mention  of  whose  name  had  been  prohibited  a 
few  weeks  before  under  heavy  penalties.  To  be  sure,  the 
famishing  populace  knew  they  were  to  be  fed.  Simul- 
taneously with  the  disarmament  which  was  systematically 
carried  out,  provision  trains  streamed  into  the  place ;  and 
as  the  wine-casks  were  broached,  all  was  drunken  jubilation. 
So  safe  did  the  new  tyrant  of  Milan  feel,  that  he  rode  out 
within  a  few  hours  after  having  ridden  in,  and  returned 
to  see  to  the  safety  of  his  camp.  But  he  knew  the  value 
of  martial  pomp  and  lavish  display  in  dazzling  and  in- 
timidating the  Italian  mob.  He  fixed  a  day  for  the  formal 
assumption  of  the  dukedom,  and  for  the  public  coronation 
of  himself  and  the  bride  through  whom  he  claimed  the 
heritage  of  the  Visconti.  The  goal  of  his  ambition  had 
been  reached  at  last  :  the  Condottiere  had  changed  his 
skin,  to  become  the  most  powerful  and  honoured  of  the 
Italian  sovereigns. 


II 

SIR   JAMES  TURNER 

Scott  has  taken  old  Robert  Munro  for  the  essential  type 
of  the  immortal  Dalgetty,  but  unquestionably  many  touches 
of  the  portraiture,  and  of  the  scenes  in  which  the  Ritt- 
master  figured,  were  borrowed  from  the  Memoirs  of  Sir 
James  Turner.  Both  may  be  taken  as  trustworthy,  except 
perhaps  where  Turner  is  on  his  defence,  but  they  were 
very  different  men.  Munro  was  a  soldier,  pure  and  simple  : 
Turner  played  a  variety  of  parts,  and  was  deeply  involved, 
to  his  manifold  peril,  in  the  political  intrigue  of  the  period. 
He  was  brought  into  familiar  and  confidential  relations 
with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  He  was  the  trusted 
agent  of  the  exiled  Charles  ;  he  was  honourably  received 
at  the  Courts  of  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Poland  ;  he  was 
in  touch  with  the  Scottish  statesmen  and  generals — with 
Montrose,  Hamilton,  and  Middleton,  with  Argyle,  Leven, 
Lauderdale,  and  Rothes.  He  was  the  brother-in-arms, 
abroad  or  at  home,  of  savage  old  Dalziel  and  of  Graham 
of  Claverhouse.  He  began  by  fighting  the  Protestant 
battle  with  the  Swedes ;  he  ended  by  persecuting  Cove- 
nanters when  he  held  command  in  the  Westland  shires. 
In  his  lively  narrative  we  have  a  breathless  succession  of 
incident — of  warfare,  of  captivity,  of  escapes  from  cap- 
tivity, of  slipping  across  the  seas  with  false  names  under 

33  c 


:^4  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

forged  passes.  Few  men  had  travelled  Western  and 
Central  Europe  more  frequently  in  aU  directions ;  he 
knew  each  river,  canal,  and  seaport  between  the  French 
frontiers  and  the  Polish  borders.  Like  Munro,  he  was 
never  so  happy  as  with  the  pen  in  his  hand,  but  unlike 
Munro,  in  his  story  he  is  never  prosy. 

Munro  was  a  staunch  Presbyterian  and  pious,  who 
fought  throughout  for  the  Protestant  cause,  and  according 
to  himself,  would  have  gone  to  the  stake  for  his  opinions. 
Turner  had  as  few  scruples  of  conscience  as  the  Ritt- 
master  ;  he  changed  his  creed  on  occasion  with  his  colours 
and  his  service,  and  with  perfect  candour  he  takes  us  into 
his  confidence  as  to  pledges  solemnly  sworn  with  no  in- 
tention of  keeping  them.  It  is  true  that  in  writing  his 
Memoirs  he  is  almost  as  edifying  in  his  moralising  as 
Munro,  deploring  the  laxity  of  his  earlier  practice.  That 
is  the  tribute  the  old  soldier  pays  to  decency,  but  it  gives 
the  stamp  of  truth  to  a  tale  which  seems  essentially 
veracious,  and  which  is  confirmed  by  contemporary  writers 
wherever  we  have  a  chance  of  checking  it.  Pay  and 
plunder  were  the  first  considerations  with  the  penniless 
cavalier  of  fortune  ;  the  pay  was  almost  invariably  in 
arrear,  and  as  to  booty,  Turner,  on  his  own  confession,  was 
as  little  scrupulous  as  his  fellows.  Of  course  we  have  only 
his  own  word  for  it,  but  he  seems,  like  Bailie  Jarvie's  father 
the  deacon's  friend,  to  have  been  honest  "  after  a  sort." 
He  accounted  honourably  for  considerable  sums  confided 
to  his  charge,  and  according  to  himself  was  foolishly 
generous  in  his  dealings  with  the  Danish  Ministry,  who 
would  readily  have  paid  for  his  recruiting  in  advance.  He 
was  certainly  a  devoted  and  most  affectionate  husband  to 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  35 

a  wife  from  whom  he  always  parted  in  pain,  and  who  made 
many  a  dangerous  journey  to  meet  him  ;  nor  need  we 
doubt  him  when  he  says  that  some  ruthless  deeds  laid  to 
his  charge  were  so  many  baseless  slanders.  The  lenient 
treatment  he  received  when  captured  by  the  fanatical 
Westland  Whigs  is  the  best  proof  of  his  relative  humanity. 

Like  Dalgetty  and  most  men  "  of  that  kidney,"  he  was 
entered  to  warfare  young.  Sorely  against  his  will  he  was 
made  a  Master  of  Arts,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  meant 
for  the  Church,  but  the  pulpit  was  not  his  vocation.  In 
his  seventeenth  year,  "  a  restless  desire  entered  my  mind  to 
be,  if  not  an  actor,  at  least  a  spectator  of  those  warrs  which 
made  so  much  novse  over  all  the  world."  He  had  friends, 
and  was  fortunate  in  getting  an  ensigncy  in  the  regiment 
Sir  James  Lumsdale— the  "stout  Lumsdale  "  of  Dalgetty's 
"intake"  of  Frankfort — was  then  raising  for  the  service 
of  the  Lion  of  the  North.  "  The  thrice-famous  Gustavus," 
Turner  styles  him,  and  it  is  significant  of  the  mihtary 
reverence  in  which  the  Swedish  King  was  held  alike  by 
followers  and  enemies  that  he  is  seldom  or  ever  mentioned 
without  some  superlative  epithet.  The  regiment  landed  at 
Elsinore,  but  the  King,  who  had  "  such  a  way  of  over- 
running countries,"  was  already  in  the  heart  of  Germany, 
and  the  regiment  never  came  to  a  sight  of  him.  Already 
his  fortunes  were  beginning  to  decline,  and  forced  to  with- 
draw from  Nuremberg  by  famine  and  Wallenstein,  he  was 
soon  to  fall  on  the  field  of  Lutzen.  But  the  Scots  speedily 
found  occupation  when,  in  the  winter  of  1633,  they  were 
attached  to  the  Swedish  army  in  Lower  Germany. 

Turner's  entry  to  campaigning  was  a  rough  one.  "  With 
this  army  I  had  a  lamentable  cold,  wet,  and  rainie  march," 


1,6  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

till  they  laid  siege  to  Hamelin,  the  town  of  the  Pied  Piper. 
When  the  Imperialists  had  been  beaten  in  a  great  battle 
for  the   relief,   there   was  slaughter  enough,   and    in    cold 
blood,    "  to   flesh   such   novices   as   I   was,"     The   famous 
Finnish  Cuirassiers,  as  stern  as  their  climate,  "  professed 
to  give  no  quarter."     Lying  in  that  long  leaguer,  his  fare 
was  none  of  the  best :    his  best  entertainment  was  bread 
and  water ;    little  of  the  first,  but  an  abundance  of  the 
latter.     In  the  subsequent  marching  and  countermarching 
he  suffered  much  from  lack  of  meat  and  clothes,  lying  out 
in  the  open  without  covering  of  any  kind.     But  it  was  the 
hardihood  next  to  the  courage  of  the  Scots  which  recom- 
mended them  so  strongly  to  the  kings  of  the  North,  and 
then  Highlanders  were  wont  to  couch  in  the  snows  with 
no   wrapping   but   the   plaid.     "  I   was   so   hardened  with 
fatigue,  and  so  well  inured  to  toile,  that  I  fully  resolved 
to  go  on  in  that  course  of  life  of  which  I  had  made  choice." 
He  was  an  apt  pupil  in  the  art  of  campaigning,  and  within 
a  year  had  learned  to  help  himself.     His  own  company 
was  in  rags,  without  a  dollar  of  pay.     "  But  I  had  got  so 
much  cunning,  and  became  so  vigilant  to  lay  hold  on  oppor- 
tunities, that  I  wanted  for  nothing,  horses,  clothes,  meate, 
nor  money,  and  made  so  good  use  of  what  I  had  learned, 
that  the  whole  time  I  served  in  Germanic  I  suffered  no 
such  misery  as  I  had  done."     How  he  came  by  necessaries 
and  luxuries  we  gather  from  his  picturesque  and  pathetic 
descriptions   of   the   miseries   of   the   peasantry  when   fair 
towns  and  peaceful  homesteads  were  blazing  everywhere. 
"  Aged  men  and  women,  most  lame  or  blind,  supported 
by  their  sonnes,  daughters,  and  grandchildren,  who  them- 
selves carried  their  little  ones  on  their  backs,  was  a  ruthful 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  37 

object  of  pity  to  any  tender-hearted  Christian,  and  did 
show  us  with  what  dreadful  countenance  that  bloodie 
monster  of  warre  can  appear  in  the  world."  All  the  same, 
the  tender-hearted  Christian  who  made  war  his  profession, 
had  to  live  by  it.  And  these  ruthless  ravages  recruited 
extenuated  ranks,  when  each  boor,  when  burned  out  and 
beggared,  was  constrained  to  become  brigand  or  soldier. 

Turner  had  better  luck  than  Dalgetty  :  he  rose  rapidly 
from  ensign  to  captain,  and  then,  hke  the  Rittmaster,  threw 
up  his  commission  on  light  cause  of  offence.  His  colonel, 
a  Courlander,  "  imposed  too  hard  conditions  of  recruits." 
From  the  frontiers  of  Franconia  he  went  straight  to 
Scotland,  to  seek  for  employment  under  the  Prince  Elector, 
who  was  levying  men  there.  So  he  had  been  told;  but, 
finding  he  had  been  misinformed,  he  hurried  back  to 
Germany,  where  he  undertook  to  raise  a  company  under 
a  Swedish  colonel  who  had  the  reputation  of  a  brave  and 
honest  cavalier.  The  colonel  swindled  him  shamefully,  and 
being  left  seriously  out  of  pocket,  he  travelled  to  the  Court 
of  Stockholm  to  lay  his  grievances  before  the  Regency. 
They  were  civil,  and  even  free-handed,  but  referred  his 
case  to  Field-Marshal  Banner,  then  far  away  in  Bohemia. 
Turner  declined  going  on  a  wild-goose  chase,  and  asked  a 
pass  for  Scotland,  which  was  granted.  It  gave  free  license 
for  "  horses,  meate,  and  drink  by  the  way  ;  a  custom  much 
in  use  then,  and  very  grievous  to  the  poore  countrymen." 

Then  there  is  the  amusingly  frank  exposition  of  a 
cavalier  of  fortune's  code  of  morality.  There  were  two 
ships  lying  in  the  roads  off  Gothenburg,  an  Englishman 
bound  for  Hull,  a  Dane  chartered  for  Leith.  It  was  a 
toss  up  as  to  his  future  in  which  he  took  a  berth  :    if  he 


38  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

went  to  the  Humber  he  was  to  be  for  the  King,  if  to  the 
Forth  he  was  to  stand  for  the  Covenant.  An  accident  he 
deemed  providential  decided  the  matter,  and  he  sailed  for 
Leith.  "  I  had  swallowed  without  chewing  in  Germanie,  a 
very  dangerous  maxime,  which  military  men  there  too  much 
follow  :  which  was,  that  so  we  serve  our  master  honestlie, 
it  is  no  matter  what  master  we  serve."  From  Edinburgh 
he  followed  Leven's  army  to  their  leaguer  on  the  Tyne, 
and  there,  through  the  dissolute  Rothes,  the  renegade  of 
"  Wandering  Willie's  Tale,"  he  got  a  major's  commission. 
A  Royahst  at  heart,  "  I  did  not  take  the  National  Covenant, 
not  because  I  refused  to  doe  it,  for  I  wold  have  made  no 
bones  to  take,  sweare,  and  signe  it,  and  observe  it  too  ; 
for  I  had  then  a  principle,  having  not  yet  studied  a  better 
one,  that  I  wronged  not  my  conscience  in  doeing  anything 
I  was  commanded  to  doe  by  those  whom  I  served.  But 
the  truth  is  it  was  never  offered  to  me." 

The  German  wars  had  been  no  bad  training  for  service 
in  Ulster  against  the  Irish  of  the  Rebellion  in  164 1.  As 
the  Chouannerie  in  Brittany,  it  was  a  war  of  ambushes  and 
surprises,  of  desultory  fighting  through  swamps  and  wood- 
lands, of  lining  hedgerows  with  musketry  and  meeting 
pikes,  scythes,  and  bludgeons  with  desultory  volleys.  In 
the  woods  of  Kilwaring,  the  rebels  who  were  taken  "  got 
but  bad  quarter,  being  all  shot  dead."  The  storm  of 
Newry  was  as  bloody  as  the  more  famous  sack  of  Drogheda, 
when  the  garrison,  with  many  merchants  and  traders  of  the 
town,  were  carried  to  the  bridge  and  butchered  to  death, 
some  by  shooting,  some  by  hanging,  and  some  by  drown- 
ing. These  summary  executions  were  licensed  by  the 
Marshal  of  Ireland  and  Major-General  Munro.     "  But  our 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  39 

sojers,  who  sometimes  are  cruel,  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  man's  wicked  nature  leads  him  to  be  so,  seeing  such 
pranks  played  by  authority  at  the  bridge,  thought  they 
might  doe  as  much  anywhere  else."  The  tide  in  full  flood 
suggested  the  pleasant  idea  of  drowning  a  hundred  and 
fifty  women  who  were  huddled  together  below  the  bridge. 
"  Seeing  the  game  those  godless  rogues  intended  to  play," 
Turner  galloped  up  and  put  a  stop  to  it  before  more  than 
a  dozen  of  the  unfortunates  were  murdered. 

The  garrison  of  Newry  was  sorely  pressed  for  lack  of 
provision  for  "  both  backe  and  bellie."  So  Turner  was  sent 
to  meet  an  Irish  colonel  :  each  envoy  was  backed  up  by 
a  score  of  horse,  and  after  drinking  deep  of  Scotch  whisky 
and  Irish  usquebaugh,  they  happily  arranged  an  armistice. 
But  as  no  money  came  in  from  England  or  Scotland,  and 
nearly  as  little  meal,  Turner  went  to  Scotland  to  interview 
the  General.  Leven  had  led  his  Scots  to  Newcastle,  and 
thither  Turner  followed.  The  soldier  found  so  much  to 
criticise,  that  it  explains  the  precipitate  flight  of  those  Scots 
from  Marston.  The  men  were  lusty,  weU  clothed,  and 
weU  paid,  but  raw  and  undisciplined  ;  the  officers,  from 
the  General  downwards,  left  everything  to  desire.  They 
were  puzzled  as  to  the  passage  of  the  Tyne.  Operations 
were  directed  by  a  sort  of  Aulic  council,  and  Turner,  with 
other  veterans,  was  caUed  into  consultation.  Their  advice 
was  ignored,  and  the  attempt  to  throw  a  pontoon  bridge 
over  the  river  might  have  ended  in  grievous  disaster  had 
the  garrison  made  a  midnight  sally  in  force.  The  Scots 
had  not  counted  with  the  tides  :  there  was  a  causeless 
panic  ;  there  was  a  comedy  of  errors,  and  Turner  made 
himself  merry  over  the  stupidity  of  both  sides,  and   the 


40  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

incompetence  of  General  Leven,  whom  he  always  held  in 
supreme  contempt. 

He  posted  back  to  Scotland,  where  he  joined  his  regi- 
ment, which  had  landed  from  Ireland,  and  there  he  was  in 
the  thick  of  political  intrigue.     The  soldier  of  the  Covenant 
was  conspiring  for  the  cause  of  the  King.     He  had  had 
"  toyle  "  and  trouble  enough  for  the  space  of  two  years  in 
Ireland,  having  got  no  more  in  the  employment  than  what 
barely  maintained  him,  and  now  he  was  casting  about  for 
a   more   lucrative   engagement.     He    discovered   that   the 
Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  to  which  the  States  required 
an  absolute  submission,  was  nothing  but  a  treacherous  and 
disloyal   combination   against   lawful   authority.     He   held 
secret  converse  with  other  disaffected  officers,   and  they 
agreed  that  it  was  their  duty  to  do  the  King  what  service 
they  could  against  his  ungracious  subjects.     They  meant 
to  join  with  Montrose,  who  had  his  Majesty's  commission, 
and  was  meditating  his  infall  on  the  Highlands.     Turner 
had  won  over  the  Earl  of  Callender,  and  was  enjoying  the 
Earl's  hospitality.     Callender  had  taken  the  deepest  oaths, 
even  wishing  the  Lord's  Supper  should  turn  to  his  dam- 
nation  were    he    to  engage   with  the   Covenanters.      But 
Montrose,    made    wary   by   experience,    declined   to    trust 
either  the  oaths  or  the  promises  of  those  suspected  con- 
verts.    As  to  Callender  he  proved  to  be  right,  and  so,  says 
Turner  in  his  disappointment,  "  by  Montrose  his  neglect, 
and  by  Calender's  perfidie,  was  lost  the  fairest  occasion 
that  could  be  desired."     "  It  was  the  inauspicious  fate  and 
disastrous  destinie  of  the  incomparablie  good  King."     That 
plot  had  failed,  but  a  man  must  live,  and  reluctantly  he 
marched   south   again   to   England  with   his  Covenanting 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  41 

regiment.  He  made  a  fashion  again,  with  brother  officers, 
"  to  take  the  Covenant,  that  under  pretence  of  the  Cove- 
nant we  might  ruin  the  Covenanters,  a  thing  that  (though 
too  much  practised  in  a  corrupt  world)  is  in  itself  dis- 
honest, sinfull,  and  disavowable."  Disavowable  he  certainly 
believed  it,  for  in  the  summer  of  1646  he  sought  a  secret 
interview  with  the  captive  King  at  Sherburne.  Charles 
knew  him  for  a  man  of  the  time,  but  "  having  got  some 
good  character  of  me,  bade  me  tell  him  the  sense  of  our 
army  concerning  him."  Turner  was  frank,  told  him  he 
was  virtually  a  prisoner,  and  offered  his  services  to  effect 
an  escape.  The  conversation  was  abruptly  interrupted  by 
Leven's  orders,  who  must  have  known  Turner  even  better 
than  the  King,  nor  was  he  ever  again  given  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  "  his  incomparable  sovereign." 

Turner  had  offered  his  Majesty  to  do  him  all  possible 
service,  but  is  silent  as  to  why  he  did  not  join  the  standard 
of  Montrose.  Subsequently,  however,  he  did  do  the  royal 
cause  some  service,  "  after  a  sort."  He  was  easily  per- 
suaded to  act  as  Adjutant-General  of  the  army  which 
marched  under  David  Leshe  into  Kintyre — not,  of  course, 
simply  for  base  considerations  of  pay,  but  "  because  I 
thought  it  dutie  to  fight  against  those  men  who  first  had 
deserted  their  Generall  Montrose  when  he  stood  most  in 
need  of  them,  .  .  .  and  next  had  absolutely  refused  to  lay 
down  their  arms  at  the  King's  owne  command."  He  con- 
firms all  Sir  Walter  Scott  says  in  the  "  Legend  "  of  the 
formidable  passes  leading  from  the  Blackmount  into 
Argyle's  country,  only  traversed  by  the  hunters  and  shep- 
herds. Had  Alaster  M' Donald  secured  them  with  his 
thousand  of  brave  foot,  Leslie  could  never  have   entered 


42  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Kintyre  but  by  a  miracle.  But  the  valiant  and  reckless 
Colkitto  was  *'  doomed  to  destruction."  By  another 
miracle  of  folly  he  threw  300  of  his  best  men  into  the  fort 
of  Dunaverty,  and  200  more  into  another  sea-girt  fortress. 
They  seem  to  have  been  well  found  in  food,  but  neither 
stronghold  "  had  a  drop  of  water."  The  garrisons  sur- 
rendered at  discretion.  Turner  acquits  Argyle,  who  had 
good  grounds  of  grief  against  the  Irish  for  their  cruel 
ravages  of  his  country,  and  charges  the  guilt,  or  at  least 
the  responsibility  of  a  massacre,  on  Leslie.  For  he  says 
that  the  General  would  willingly  have  shown  mercy,  but 
was  urged  persistently  by  his  truculent  chaplain  to  smite 
the  captive  Amalekites  hip  and  thigh.  "  Each  mother's 
son  was  put  to  the  sword,"  save  a  youth,  whose  Hfe,  for 
some  reason,  was  successfully  begged  by  Turner.  Indeed, 
with  all  his  love  for  free  quarters  and  lust  for  booty,  he 
seems  to  have  been  invariably  averse  to  useless  bloodshed. 
No  cold-blooded  atrocities  are  laid  to  his  charge,  as  was 
the  case  with  Claverhouse,  Dalziel,  and  Grierson. 

The  slaughtered  Irish  had  been  in  arms  for  the  King. 
Turner,  who  had  been  Adjutant-General  with  the  Cove- 
nanters, was  now  to  play  his  part  in  the  Duke  of  Hamilton's 
ill-fated  expedition  in  aid  of  the  English  Royalists.  There 
was  a  strange  state  of  affairs  in  Edinburgh.  The  Duke 
and  his  friends  had  got  the  better  in  the  Parliament  of  the 
Covenanting  faction,  headed  by  Argyle  and  supported  by 
Leven  and  David  Leshe.  A  vote  had  been  carried  for  the 
raising  of  troops  to  march  into  England  for  his  Majesty's 
releasement.  A  counter  petition  was  drawn  up,  which 
was  to  secure  religion  and  the  Kingdom  of  Christ ;  it  was 
called  the  petition  of  the  army,  and  was  subscribed  by 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  43 

Leven,  David  Leslie,  and  all  the  distinguished  Covenanting 
leaders.  It  was  believed,  says  Turner,  that  "  the  rest 
would  follow  suit,  but  they  were  deceived."  He  and  the 
"  honest  "  folk,  with  Middleton  at  their  head,  declined  to 
incur  the  dishonour  which  Fairfax  had  drawn  on  himself 
by  intimidating  the  Parliament  at  Westminster.  There 
was  a  httle  civil  war  in  Scotland,  by  way  of  preliminary 
to  the  other  undertaking,  which  for  a  time  threatened  to 
be  formidable.  The  preachers  fired  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Whigs.  The  conflagration  spread  in  the  south-western 
shires,  where  the  Covenanting  element  was  strong.  Glasgow, 
of  all  the  considerable  towns,  was  the  most  refractory. 
Turner  was  sent  with  horse  and  foot  to  bring  the  recal- 
citrant city  to  reason.  There  he  entered  on  the  prac- 
tices which  he  found  so  efficient  in  Ayr  and  Dumfries 
after  the  Restoration.  "  I  founde  my  work  not  very 
difficult,  for  I  learned  to  know  that  the  quartering  two 
or  three  troopers  and  half  a  dozen  musketeers  was  ane 
argument  strong  enough  in  two  or  three  nights'  time  to 
make  the  hardest-headed  Covenanter  forsake  the  Kirk  and 
side  with  the  Parliament."  Finding  his  Glasgow  men  grown 
pretty  tame,  he  tendered  them  a  paper  at  point  of  sword, 
which  was  known  facetiously  as  "Turner's  covenant." 
"  It  was  nothing  but  a  submission  to  all  orders  of  Parlia- 
ment :  "  it  was  subscribed  by  all,  with  rare  exceptions, 
and  was  so  highly  approved  at  headquarters  that  he  was 
ordered,  with  his  booted  apostles  of  loyalty,  to  reduce 
Renfrewshire  to  obedience.  Similar  measures  were  adopted 
elsewhere  under  other  leaders  :  armed  assemblies  and  con- 
venticles were  dispersed  with  "  bloody  broyles "  :  but 
though   the   conflagration   was  suppressed,   the   fires   were 


44  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

still  smouldering  when  the  royal  forces  mustered  at 
Stewarton. 

Never  was  a  foolhardy  and  belated  undertaking  more 
surely  doomed  to  disaster.  It  was  undertaken  and  set  out 
with  the  fond  idea  of  efficiently  aiding  the  English  loyalists, 
who  were  already  reduced  to  extremities.  Colchester  was 
the  last  garrison  in  the  southern  counties  which  held  for 
the  King,  though  Carlisle  was  the  immediate  object  of 
relief,  where  the  gallant  Langdale  was  closely  beset  by 
Lambert.  Half  the  levies  had  not  come  in  when  the  army 
marched,  and  Lanark,  the  Duke's  brother,  with  the  saddest 
forebodings  over  the  fortunes  of  his  illustrious  house,  was 
left  to  mount  guard  over  the  rebel  Whigs.  Hamilton's 
forces,  according  to  Turner,  were  no  better  than  an  armed 
rabble.  They  had  no  cannon,  not  a  single  field-piece,  and 
little  ammunition.  Commissariat  and  transport  were  abso- 
lutely lacking.  Incessant  rain  had  damped  their  powder 
and  their  spirits.  Their  councils  were  distracted  :  Hamilton, 
though  he  displayed  great  personal  gallantry,  was  no 
general,  and  as  they  pushed  stubbornly  forward,  with 
Lambert  behind  and  Cromwell  in  front,  their  fate  was 
assured  and  only  hung  in  suspense.  The  inevitable 
denouement  came  in  Staffordshire,  where  they  surrendered 
on  terms,  "  good  enough,  but  very  ill  kept."  Hamilton, 
like  his  royal  master,  was  brought  to  the  block,  and  Turner, 
with  other  officers,  went  into  captivity  at  Hull, 

But  we  are  only  concerned  with  his  personal  adventures, 
and  they  are  sensational  enough.  At  Hornby  there  was 
a  question  as  to  the  route  of  the  advance.  Turner,  agreeing 
with  Middleton,  gave  his  opinion  for  Yorkshire  :  urging 
that  Lancashire  was  a  county  full  of  hedges  and  ditches, 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  45 

where   Cromwell's   veterans   would  have   great   advantage 
over  Hamilton's  untrained  musketeers,  whereas  in  the  more 
open   Yorkshire   they  might  use   their  horse   and   "  come 
sooner  to  push  of  pike."     As  with  Dalgetty,  the  pike  was 
Turner's  darhng  weapon.     Once  he  had  more  of  it  than 
he  cared  for,  when  he  was  wounded  in  the  house  of  his 
friends.     Mutinies  had  been  not  infrequent  in  the  insub- 
ordinate ranks,  and  on  the   retreat  to  Wigan  there  were 
nocturnal  alarms  which  threw  the  army  into  panic-stricken 
confusion.     "  I    marched    with    the    last    brigade    of    foot 
through  the  toune  :    I  was  alarmed  that  the  horse  behind 
me   were   beaten   and  runne  several  ways,   and  that  the 
enemy  was  in  my  reare."     He  faced  about  with  his  brigade 
to  cover  the  retreat,  when  a  regiment  of  horse  came  up, 
"  riding  very  disorderlie."     He  had  them  halted  while  he 
"  ordered  his  pikes  to  open,  and  give  way  for  them  to  ride 
or  runne  away,"     "  But  my  pikemen  being  demented  (as 
I  think  we  all  were)  would  not  heare  me,  and  two  of  them 
runne  full  tilt  at  me,"     One  of  the  thrusts  he  parried  ;   the 
other  ran  him  through  the  thigh.     Not  unnaturally  he  lost 
temper, , and  had  recourse  to  violent  methods.     "I  forgot 
all  rules  of  modestie,  prudence,  and  discretion.     I  rode  to 
our  horse  and  desired  them  to  charge  through  these  foot. 
They,  fearing  the  hazard  of  the  pikes,  stood.     I  then  made 
a  cry  come  from  behind  them,  that  the  enemy  was  upon 
them."     Whereupon  they  charged  the  foot  so  fiercely,  that 
the  pikemen  scattered  and  bolted  for  cover.     The  cavalry 
distinguished    themselves    on   that    occasion    as    they   had 
never  done  before,  for   they  rode  right  over  the  retiring 
brigades,  and  one  Colonel  Lockhart  "  was  trode  doune  from 
his  horse,  with  great  danger  of   his  life."     But  wounded 


46  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  ruffled  as  he  was,  the  old  soldier  promptly  recovered 
his  presence  of  mind.  He  caused  his  drums  to  beat,  though 
the  enemy  was  near,  got  his  men  together,  and  marched 
on  through  the  darkness  till  it  was  fair  day.  Then  he  was 
prevailed  upon  by  Major-General  Baillie  to  take  some  rest 
in  a  chair,  as  he  had  slept  none  in  two  nights  and  ate  as 
little.  Having  rejoined  the  Duke,  his  first  idea  seems  to 
have  been  to  desert  him  :  "to  march  forward  a  day  or 
two  and  then  by  a  turne  to  endeavour  to  get  into  Scot- 
land." But  that  was  impracticable  ;  the  trained  bands 
were  up  in  arms  ever3^where,  and  there  was  no  breaking 
away  from  the  main  body,  which  was  being  steadily  pushed 
south,  with  all  retreat  cut  off.  Three  nights  he  passed  in 
the  saddle  ;  the  fourth  he  lodged  in  a  hedge;  and  slept  so 
sound  that  the  trumpets  could  not  wake  him  ;  and  as  he 
met  with  civil  treatment  from  his  captors,  it  must  have 
been  a  relief  when  he  yielded  himself  a  prisoner  of  war. 
Colonel  Overton,  who  held  Hull  for  the  Parliament,  was 
friendly,  though  according  to  special  orders  from  head- 
quarters, Turner  was  strictly  guarded.  Indeed  Cromwell 
— at  Argyle's  instigation,  as  Turner  believed — paid  him  the 
high  compliment  of  ordering  him  into  irons.  He  made  no 
doubt  that,  if  greater  matters  had  not  put  him  out  of  the 
Protector's  mind,  some  greater  mischief  would  have  be- 
fallen him.  For  more  than  a  year  he  was  under  ward, 
dieted  and  boarded  at  his  own  costs.  He  paid  eighteen 
pence  a  meal ;  a  shilling  for  his  bed,  a  groat  for  his  man's, 
a  shilling  for  coals,  and  a  groat  for  candles.  The  time  did 
not  hang  so  heavy  on  his  hands  as  might  have  been 
expected,  for  he  had  the  use  of  books,  pen,  and  paper. 
When  Cromwell  had  gone  to  Scotland,  the  Governor  be- 


SIR  JAMES   TURNER  47 

stirred  himself  in  his  favour,  using  his  influence  for  letters 
of  liberty  from  Fairfax,  on  Turner  giving  his  parole  to  go 
beyond  seas  and  not  return  to  the  three  kingdoms  for  a 
twelvemonth. 

It  was  after  the  execution  of  the  King  that  he  sailed 
for  Hamburg,  where  he  found  himself  among  a  number  of 
penniless    compatriots    attending   the  orders  and  motions 
of  Montrose.     It  was  lack  of  money,  as  he  tells  us,  which 
scared  the  adventurer  from  following  the  Marquis  on  his 
last  fatal  expedition.     But  though  often  short  of  cash,  he 
generally  had  some  sort  of  credit  ;  his  wife  came  over  to 
Holland  with  supphes,  and  after  a  visit  to  the  Court  of 
Denmark,  he  was  persuaded  by  Lord  Carnegy  to  venture 
himself  with  him  in  Scotland  again.     The  visit  was  sadly 
ill-timed,  for  they  landed  at  Aberdeen  on  the  very  eve  of 
the  battle  of  Dunbar.     The  persecution  was  hotter  than 
ever  against  those  who  had  followed  the  lead  of  Hamilton, 
so  the  gentlemen  separated  and  went  into  hiding.     Soon, 
however,  they  could  venture  to  emerge.     The  titular  King 
of  Scots,  trimming  his  sails  to  the  wind,  commanded  all 
who  would  serve  him  to  submit  themselves  to  the  Kirk. 
But  Turner's  dragooning  of  Glasgow  and  the  West  was 
remembered  against  him,  and  it  needed  time   and  much 
influence   to  condone  his  flagrant  offences.     However,   in 
due  course  he  was  absolved,  made  Adjutant-General,  and 
given    a    regiment    by    his    Majesty's    special    command. 
"  Behold  a   fearful  sinne  !  "   piously  ejaculates   the   auto- 
biographer.     "  The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  took  our  re- 
pentances as  unfeigned,  knowing  well  they  were  counter- 
feit, and  we  made  no  scruple  to  perjure  ourselves,  speaking 
against  conscience  and  judgement." 


48  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

His  new  engagement  ended  abruptly  with  the  rout  of 
Worcester.  He  was  one  among  the  thousands  of  prisoners 
who  were  to  be  carried  in  triumph  to  London.  The  wily 
veteran  was  too  many  for  the  careless  guards.  On  this 
occasion  he  had  refused  his  parole,  and  Generals  Dalziel 
and  Drummond,  who  had  been  brothers-in-arms  with  the 
Muscovites,  likewise  chivalrously  declined  to  sign,  lest 
Turner,  as  the  sole  recusant,  might  be  the  worse  used.  He 
profited  by  their  generosity,  for  in  loyal  Oxford,  with  the 
help  of  friendly  hosts,  he  made  a  moonlight  flitting  through 
the  roof,  escaping  all  the  outposts  of  horse  and  foot,  though 
not  without  obstructions  and  some  merry  passages.  He 
walked  to  London  in  company  of  half-a-dozen  bargemen 
who  had  served  the  murdered  King  as  soldiers.  The  com- 
panions of  his  travel  were  lusty  but  debauched ;  they 
would  not  pass  a  single  ale-house  on  the  way,  and  Turner 
had  to  pay  for  any  amount  of  drink ;  "  but  it  was  a 
vexation  for  me  to  drink  cup  for  cup  with  them,  els  they 
should  have  had  no  good  opinion  of  me."  Good  fellows 
they  were  nevertheless  ;  they  would  have  no  gold  from 
him,  when  he  bade  them  a  grateful  farewell  in  London, 
but,  under  pressure,  consented  to  take  half-a-crown  apiece 
to  drink  his  health  on  their  return,  and  so  "  with  many 
embraces  we  parted."  They  were  faithful  as  the  poor 
Highlanders  who  sheltered  the  Young  Cavalier.  He  had 
felt  obliged  to  reveal  his  identity,  and  they  would  have 
been  handsomely  paid  for  betraying  him. 

In  London  he  stirred  little  abroad,  for  the  streets  were 
full  of  Scottish  acquaintances  who  might  have  been  less 
scrupulous,  and  the  watch  at  the  ports  was  then  so  strict 
that  he  dared  not  go  out  of  England  till  it  was  known 


OF 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  49 

that  the  young  King  was  safe  in  Paris.  Through  bribed 
jailors  he  was  in  constant  communication  with  Middleton, 
then  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower.  "  I  did  approach  him,  for 
my  inteUigence  by  my  Enghsh  friends  was  very  good,  that 
his  hfe  would  be  taken,  so  soon  as  he  was  cured  of  a  shot 
he  had  received,  and  therefore  had  laid  down  three  ways 
for  his  escape."  But  Middleton  hesitated,  because  if  he 
had  broken  out,  his  Scottish  estates  would  assuredly  have 
been  forfeited,  begging  Turner  to  be  gone  and  see  to  his 
own  safety,  giving  him  messages  to  the  King  and  friends 
in  France.  Middleton  subsequently  reconsidered  the 
matter  and  did  escape,  placing  Turner,  as  it  chanced,  in 
an  awkward  dilemma  at  Dover.  He  had  gone  to  the 
coast  with  a  forged  passport,  and  would  have  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  embarking  had  he  not  been  mistaken  and  arrested 
for  Middleton.  A  brother  Scot  was  called  in  to  cross- 
examine  him,  but  that  Mr.  Tours  "  proved  ane  honest 
man,"  and  inteUigently  responded  to  a  private  sign. 
Turner  arrived  safely  at  Paris,  where  he  had  a  gracious 
reception  from  his  Majesty  and  cordial  welcome  from  old 
acquaintances. 

Turner,  though  he  had  thrown  off  the  student's  gown 
to  don  the  cuirass,  might  have  been  a  scholarly  man  in 
more  peaceful  times.  Few  soldiers  of  fortune  would  have 
withdrawn  from  the  bustle  of  intrigue  to  the  seclusion  of 
a  pension  that  they  might  improve  themselves  in  French. 
But  Mars  must  have  been  in  the  ascendant  at  Turner's 
birth.  He  was  disturbed  in  his  peaceful  quarters  by  the 
fighting  of  the  Fronde,  and  when  Conde  was  driven  in  on 
the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  in  great  peril  from  land  thieves  and 
water  thieves  on  either  bank,  Turner  went  by  river  to  St. 

D 


so  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Germains,  whither  the  exiled  Court  had  withdrawn.  There 
he  was  fortunate  in  forming  the  friendship  of  the  future 
Marshal  Keith,  and  after  an  enjoyable  trip  to  Rouen,  they 
were  sent  in  advance  of  Middleton  to  Holland  to  beat  up 
recruits  for  that  general's  projected  campaign  in  Scotland. 
How  Turner  found  money  for  his  travelling  expenses  is  a 
mystery.  It  would  seem  that,  contrary  to  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  his  profession,  he  sometimes  went  wayfaring  on 
his  own  charges,  for  his  subsequent  mission  from  the  King 
to  Lower  Germany  was  as  an  accredited  beggar  to  more 
or  less  impecunious  Scottish  gentlemen.  It  shows  the 
humiliating  expedients  to  which  the  young  monarch  was 
reduced.  Travelling  night  and  day,  on  a  long  winter 
journey,  he  came  back  with  1500  dollars.  A  peregrination 
in  the  spring  was  more  successful,  when  Middleton  was  so 
elated  by  his  collecting  three  times  as  much  that  he  sent 
his  own  brother-in-law  on  a  similar  errand  to  the  Swedish 
mercenaries.  Sir  Edward  Hyde,  a  keeper  of  the  royal 
privy  purse,  must  have  had  at  once  an  anxious  and  easy 
time.  There  were  few  finances  to  administer,  yet  at  the 
same  time  it  was  hard  to  meet  the  daily  expenses  of  the 
frugal  household,  and  supply  the  King's  occasional  extrava- 
gances. But  from  love  or  policy,  from  jealousy  of  English 
commerce  or  hatred  of  Cromwell  and  the  Puritan  regime, 
money  always  trickled  in  somehow.  The  Spanish  Govern- 
ment of  the  Netherlands  gave  grudging  subsidies,  with  the 
permission  to  levy  regiments  if  the  men  were  forthcoming  ; 
and  the  merchants  of  Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam,  with 
"  well-affected  Scotsmen  "  in  Holland,  now  and  again  came 
down  handsomely. 

Middleton  sailed  for  Scotland,  with  the  veterans  Dalziel 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  51 

and  Drummond  in  company,  but  Turner  for  some  reason 
was  left  to  follow.  He  lost  nothing  by  not  being  attached 
to  headquarters,  for  Monk  held  the  North  in  his  firm  grip, 
and  the  expedition  proved  a  ludicrous  fiasco.  For  himself 
he  ran  through  another  gamut  of  adventure,  and  his 
experiences  at  hide-and-seek  may  have  proved  useful  when 
afterwards  he  hunted  down  persecuted  Covenanters  in  the 
hills  and  glens  of  Galloway.  After  a  tempestuous  voyage 
in  a  Norwegian  timber  ship  he  was  landed  on  the  coast 
of  Fife.  The  friendly  skipper  buried  his  baggage  and  some 
arms  he  had  brought  over,  and  he  ventured  forth  on  the 
quest  for  recruits.  He  picked  up  a  few  officers  out  of  work, 
who  professed  themselves  ready  to  join  Middleton,  and 
they  lurked  together  for  some  weeks  in  the  Perthshire 
Highlands,  then  scoured  by  strong  parties  from  the  English 
garrisons.  They  had  news  from  the  North  by  troopers  of 
Middleton,  who  had  "  taken  a  liberty  to  themselves  to 
disband."  Everything  was  so  discouraging,  and  the  affairs 
of  his  Majesty  were  so  obviously  "  out  of  frame,"  that  he 
decided  to  beat  a  retreat.  Nevertheless  he  owed  it  to 
himself  to  attempt  something  before  he  left,  and  there  is 
an  account  of  a  skirmish  which  is  interesting,  as  it  very 
evidently  was  in  Scott's  memory  when  he  describes  the 
meeting  of  Dalgetty  with  Menteith  and  Montrose.  Turner 
came  across  an  officer  with  a  score  of  disbanded  troopers 
who  had  thoughts  of  "  making  a  purchase  of  200  pairs  of 
pistols  "  stored  in  a  house  in  Kirkcaldy.  "  Purchase  "  was 
a  pleasant  euphemism,  and  payment  was  to  be  in  powder 
and  shot.  Carousing  at  an  ale-house  where  the  ale  was 
good,  they  conferred  the  command  on  Turner,  who  settled 
the  bill,  to  the  rehef  and  surprise  of  the  landlord,  as  "it 


52  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

was  a  thing  not  usual  at  that  time."  It  was  fortunate  he 
had  primed  his  party  well  with  liquor,  for  that  afternoon 
they  met  thirty  well-mounted  men  of  the  enemy,  English 
and  Scots.  "  We  trifled  away  the  time  with  enquiring  for 
whom  we  were,  and  at  length  I  bid  one  of  my  officers 
tell  we  were  for  God  and  King  Charles."  The  enemy  ran 
basely,  but  there  was  an  unfortunate  contretemps,  through 
which  Turner,  who  drew  the  line  between  Scottish  rebels 
and  fair  English  foes,  came  to  be  falsely  charged  with  the 
murder  of  an  English  prisoner  in  cold  blood. 

He  came  back  with  cold  news  to  the  Court,  which  was 
then  at  Aix-la-Chapelle,  for  few  men  were  more  continually 
on  the  move  than  the  royal  exile  in  his  evil  days.  At 
Paris,  Cologne  or  Aix,  Bruges,  Breda,  or  the  Hague,  he 
was  seldom  made  heartily  welcome,  and  often  warned 
sharply  away.  Turner  reported  to  Hyde  and  Newburgh, 
who  were  billeted  together  in  a  convent ;  but  though  he 
declared  himself  ready  to  go  on  the  King's  service  to  Japan, 
he  demurred  to  being  sent  back  to  Scotland.  Middleton 
had  shown  small  respect  for  him,  and  Glencairn  mistrusted 
him  as  a  democrat.  His  time  at  Aix  was  passed  not 
altogether  unprofitably,  for  a  course  of  the  baths  cured 
him  of  a  disease,  epidemical  in  the  Highlands  from  which 
he  had  brought  it,  "  I  mean  the  scab  or  itch."  As  his 
master  had  neither  work  nor  pay  for  him,  he  went  to  seek 
an  engagement  elsewhere.  He  had  a  pass  for  Bremen 
without  a  discharge.  But  soldiering  was  slack  then,  and 
adventurers  not  in  demand,  and  there  was  a  whole  year  of 
involuntary  repose.  Other  soldiers  of  greater  distinction 
felt  the  pinch  as  he  did.  In  the  summer  of  1655  Dalziel 
came  to  Bremen  in  disguise,  and  spent  a  few  days  with 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  53 

him.  The  fierce  old  warrior  was  in  despair  ;  he  declared 
that  all  was  lost  in  Scotland,  and  it  was  then  he  sought 
congenial  service  with  the  Tsar  of  Muscovy,  whence  he 
returned  ten  years  afterwards  to  dragoon  the  Whigs  of 
the  Southland  shires  and  sit,  superintending  tortures  and 
signing  death  warrants,  on  the  Blood  Council  of  Edinburgh. 
Charles  had  cherished  some  delusiv^e  hopes  when  Crom- 
well declared  war  with  Spain,  but  it  would  be  wearisome 
to  follow  Turner  in  schemes  that  came  to  nought  and 
through  a  succession  of  disappointments.  The  note  of  the 
whole  is  chronic  impecuniosity.  Sent  on  a  mission  with 
Middleton  to  the  King  of  Poland,  they  were  stopped  en 
route  by  stress  of  poverty,  "  in  pitiful  condition."  They 
borrowed  from  magistrates  and  private  persons  money  that 
was  never  to  be  repaid.  They  had  to  leave  the  inns  and 
find  sorry  lodgings  apart ;  their  money  was  all  spent,  their 
credit  gone,  and  everything  was  pawned  except  their 
wearing  apparel.  Always  by  permission  of  King  Charles 
he  took  service  with  the  Danes,  and  was  commissioned  by 
them  to  raise  a  regiment.  The  estimated  cost  was  to  be 
paid  him  in  advance,  but  as  half  the  men  were  to  be  sought 
in  Holland,  he  declares  that  in  his  scrupulous  generosity 
he  would  only  accept  half  the  pay.  It  was  very  unlike 
the  shrewd  old  routier  to  refuse,  as  Dalgetty  says,  coined 
money,  freely  offered,  and  he  bitterly  regretted  it  later 
— more  especially  when  the  monarchs  of  Denmark  and 
Sweden  had  made  peace,  and  when  the  united  princes,  to 
his  intense  disgust,  discharged  the  Danish  levies  in  most 
cavalier  fashion  "  under  paine  of  death,"  giving  each  of 
the  privates  half  a  dollar  and  bidding  them  go  where  they 
pleased. 


54  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Colonel  Turner  went  in  quest  of  the  money  he  had 
chivalrously  refused.  As  was  to  be  expected,  he  failed  to 
get  it,  for  the  Danish  king  was  almost  as  hard  up  as  him- 
self. For  the  next  two  years,  with  empty  pockets,  he  was 
dancing  attendance  on  the  impecunious  Charles,  whose 
Court  was  agitated  by  alternate  hopes  and  fears,  according 
to  the  reports  from  England.  It  seems  certain  that  he 
was  admitted  to  their  most  confidential  counsels.  When 
the  troubles  began  between  Monk  and  Lambert,  as  his 
fortunes  were  desperate  and  he  had  nothing  in  Scotland  to 
lose,  he  was  made  the  mouthpiece  and  probable  scapegoat 
of  the  Scottish  lords,  who  offered  his  Majesty  loyal  help 
if  he  could  send  them  armed  assistance.  Charles  was 
lavish  of  assurances  and  agreeable  to  their  proposals, 
except  as  to  their  desire  to  get  rid  of  Middleton  is  general, 
who  was  still  in  high  favour.  By  the  royal  command 
Turner  preceded  the  King  from  Brussels  to  Breda,  where 
Charles  for  once  was  cordially  welcomed  by  his  sister  and 
his  nephew,  the  Prince  of  Orange.  In  a  personal  inter- 
view he  charged  Turner  to  give  his  Scottish  friends  aU  sort 
of  satisfaction,  except  as  to  Middleton's  dismissal.  But 
the  chances  were  always  against  the  soldier  of  fortune. 
Events  moved  so  fast,  as  much  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
King  as  to  the  disgust  of  his  envoy,  that  he  never  had  the 
opportunity  of  discharging  that  delicate  mission.  "  In  less 
than  two  months  the  King  was  proclaimed  in  all  his  three 
kingdoms." 

Nevertheless  Turner  had  done  and  endured  so  much 
that  he  counted  confidently  on  high  honours  and  rich 
rewards.  If  he  did  all  he  professes  to  have  done,  like 
many  another  honest   and  less   helpful   cavalier,   he   was 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  55 

somewhat  scurvily  treated.  He  had  the  privilege  of  kissing 
the  King's  hand,  and  received  the  accolade  of  knighthood, 
by  which  he  set  small  store,  as  it  was  promotion  without 
pay.  Moreover  Charles,  who  was  always  lavish  of  pro- 
mises and  costless  civilities,  "assured  me  he  had  ordered 
his  commissioner  to  provide  for  me."  The  commissioner 
was  his  old  travelling  companion  Middleton,  whom  he 
seems  always  to  have  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  who 
probably  believed  that  Turner  had  played  him  false  when 
acting  for  the  Scottish  lords,  who  were  his  avowed  enemies. 
At  any  rate  the  chapter  of  the  foreign  experiences  ends 
with  the  dolorous  plaint  of  the  man  with  a  grievance. 
"  Earle  Middleton  never  did  doe,  act,  or  propone  anything 
for  me." 

The  rest  is  matter  of  Scottish  history.  Three  or  four 
years  were  passed  in  comparative  obscurity,  and  then 
Turner  figured  only  too  conspicuously  in  what  Macaulay 
would  have  called  "  the  evil  days  "  of  the  persecution. 
Among  the  "  booted  apostles  of  prelacy,"  next  to  Claver- 
house  and  Dalziel,  not  even  Grierson  of  Lagg,  the  proto- 
type of  Sir  Robert  Redgauntlet,  is  more  heartily  denounced 
or  more  bitterly  execrated  by  Wodrow  or  Patrick  Walker. 
The  philosophic  Hume  gives  him  the  epithet  of  ferocious, 
and  even  Scott,  who  was  no  friend  to  "  the  beastly  Cove- 
nanters," deals  with  him  harshly,  quoting  authorities  who 
describe  him  as  fierce  and  dissolute.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  they  do  not  do  him  some  injustice.  He  was  a 
mercenary  soldier,  emphatically  a  man  of  his  time,  who, 
like  Claverhouse,  believed  that  the  orders  of  his  superiors 
absolved  him  from  all  personal  responsibility.  He  certainly 
was  not  naturally  cruel,  nor  bloodthirsty,  when  he  had  his 


S6  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

faculties  under  command.  In  short,  he  seems  to  have 
been  rather  a  good  fellow.  But  he  owns  himself  that  he 
was  a  hard  drinker,  and  Burnet,  who  was  rather  friendly 
to  him  than  otherwise,  tells  us  he  was  mad  when  he  was 
drunk.  Like  all  his  kind  he  was  greedy  of  gain,  and 
turned  his  times  of  command  to  profitable  account.  To 
a  licentious  soldier  given  a  free  hand  the  opportunities  were 
irresistible,  and  when  he  assures  us  he  did  not  abuse  them 
excessively,  he  may  have  been  astonished  at  his  own 
moderation.  Had  he  been  Claverhouse  or  Dalziel,  we  may 
assume  confidently  that  he  would  have  been  shot  or  hung 
out  of  hand,  when  the  Whigs  took  him  in  his  lodgings  at 
Ayr.  But  his  excuse  for  surrendering  convicts  himself,  as 
it  condemns  the  infamous  system  of  dragooning.  It  was 
the  application  of  the  financial  and  moral  thumbscrew  to 
the  recalcitrants  who  were  backward  with  exorbitant  fines. 
All  of  his  troopers  save  thirteen  were  billeted  by  twos  and 
threes,  where  it  was  their  business  to  make  themselves  as 
obnoxious  as  possible,  and  when  rapine  and  outrage  of 
every  kind  recommended  them  to  favourable  consideration 
at  headquarters. 

At  any  rate,  if  he  sinned  he  suffered,  when  he  was  made 
to  do  penance  for  his  military  subservience  to  the  per- 
secuting edicts  of  Lauderdale  and  Sharpe.  The  old  soldier 
was  in  hourly  terror  of  death  all  the  time  he  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Covenanters,  whom  he  ingenuously  entreated 
to  submit  to  the  King's  clemency,  reminding  them  that 
they  had  to  do  with  a  merciful  prince.  The  crisis  came 
at  Rullion  Green,  when  his  life  seemed  to  depend  on  the 
issue  of  the  skirmish.  He  saved  himself  by  a  timely  com- 
pact with  his  guards,  and  was  hopeful  that  his  misfortunes 


SIR   JAMES   TURNER  57 

had  ended  with  the  suppression  of  the  rebeUion.  As 
matter  of  fact  they  were  only  beginning,  and,  charged  with 
atrocities  done  to  order  and  with  malversations  of  money, 
he  had  melancholy  experience  of  mihtary  commissions  and 
the  civil  courts.  Calumniated  he  may  have  been,  and  no 
doubt  was,  for  it  was  the  interest  of  the  Government  to 
make  him  answerable  for  the  rising ;  his  victims  were 
encouraged  to  bear  testimony  against  him,  and  as  to  his 
intromissions  with  fines  and  exactions,  for  these  he  had  no 
vouchers  to  show. 


Ill 

SIR    JOHN  HEPBURN    AND    COLONEL   ROBERT 

MUNRO 

Among  the  Scottish  officers  who  came  to  the  front  in  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  few  attained  to  greater  distinction  than 
Sir  John  Hepburn,  who  was  long  in  command  of  the 
Brigade,  and  his  staunch  friend.  Colonel  Robert  Munro. 
They  were  brothers-in-arms,  invariably  counting  on  mutual 
support  with  absolute  confidence.  Sir  John  never  gave  his 
reminiscences  to  the  world,  but  he  is  among  the  most  con- 
spicuous figures  in  all  the  histories  of  the  war — Schiller 
excepted,  who  says  httle  of  the  foreign  auxiliaries — and 
notably  in  the  prolix  and  metaphysical  memoirs  of  his  old 
comrade  Munro.  So  in  following  the  fortunes  of  the  one, 
we  incidentally  sketch  the  career  of  the  other.  Both  were 
characteristic  representatives  of  the  best  of  their  country- 
men, although  of  very  different  temperaments  and  actuated 
by  different  motives.  Hepburn,  like  Bayard,  was  the  soul 
of  chivalry  ;  his  aspirations  for  military  glory  induced  him 
to  volunteer  for  each  desperate  piece  of  service.  He  was 
sensitive  to  touchiness  on  the  point  of  honour,  and  on  a 
fancied  affront  from  the  leader  he  had  idolised  and  faith- 
firily  followed,  he  rejected  the  King's  condescending  ad- 
vances, resigned  his  commission,  and  sheathing  the  sword 

which  had  served   Gustavus  so  well,   declared  he   would 

58 


HEPBURN   AND   MUNRO  59 

never  draw  it  again  for  Sweden.  When  we  remember  that 
Gustavus  with  starving  troops  was  then  playing  his  last 
stake  against  the  leaguer  of  Wallenstein,  we  may  conceive 
how  hotly  Hepburn's  anger  must  have  burned. 

Hepburn  was  a  Catholic  :  it  was  said  that  the  quarrel 
began  or  was  envenomed  by  some  sHghts  cast  b}^  the 
Protestant  champion  on  the  Catholic  creed.  Munro  was  a 
Presbyterian,  and  rather  a  dour  Presbyterian  at  that ;  he 
dwells  on  the  privileges  that  Gustavus  forced  on  his  troops 
by  commissioning  chaplains  to  every  regiment  and  insisting 
on  regular  preaching  and  prayers.  Munro,  writing  of  his 
campaigns  in  old  age,  is  always  preaching  and  moralising 
himself,  but  he  seems  really  to  have  been  a  deeply  religious 
man.  He  says  as  much  for  his  Scottish  soldiers,  though 
that  is  more  than  we  can  easily  believe.  Talking  of  his 
regiment  when  ordered  into  action,  he  observes,  "  Never 
men  went  on  service  with  more  cheerful  countenances, 
going  as  it  were  to  welcome  death,  knowing  it  to  be  the 
passage  into  life."  Hepburn,  as  I  have  said,  was  a  modern 
knight  of  chivalry.  Munro  was  a  steady-going  soldier, 
unflinching  in  face  of  the  most  formidable  odds,  and  re- 
signed to  daring  anything  in  the  way  of  duty.  He  had 
initiative  too  and  readiness  of  resource,  as  he  showed  on 
various  occasions.  His  Highland  fire  was  tempered  by 
Lowland  phlegm,  and  he  kept  himself  cool  and  thoughtful 
in  the  worst  emergencies.  But  he  never  ran  his  head  idly 
against  stone  walls,  and  his  ambitions  were  limited  to 
regular  professional  advancement.  The  closely-printed, 
black-letter  folio  in  which  he. has  recorded  his  "  Expeditions 
and  Observations  "  is  become  very  scarce  ;  it  was  pub- 
lished in   Red   Crosse   Street,   London,   in   1637,   and    the 


6o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

copy  preserved  in  the  Advocates'  Library,  Edinburgh,  was 
probably   that   which   was   carefully  studied   by  Scott   in 
getting  up  his  materials  for  the  "  Legend  of  Montrose,"  and 
evolving  the  immortal   personality  of  Dalgetty.     Annota- 
tions on  the  margin  have  a  suspicious  resemblance  to  the 
handwriting  of  the  novelist,  though  we  are  slow  to  suspect 
that  epicurean   bibhophile   of   tampering   with   the   virgin 
pages  of  a  borrowed  book.     Be  that  as  it  may,   though 
Munro    is    intolerably    prolix    and    perversely    confused ; 
though  he  drags  in  a  Butler-like  range  of  pedantic  erudition 
by  the  head  and  shoulders  ;    though  he  moralises  in  season 
and  out  of  season  ;    though  his  chronology  defies  exegetical 
analysis,  and  he  makes  wild  work  of  German  orthography 
and  topography ;    nevertheless   the   volume   is   a  veritable 
treasury  of  graphic  information  as  to  soldiering  experiences 
in  that  interminable  war.     It  is  evident  that  Harte  has 
drawn  on  it  freely  for  his  "  Life  of  Gustavus  Adolphus," 
especially  in  regard  to  strategy  and  tactics,  and  the  innova- 
tions and  improvements  in  the  science  of  war  which  the 
King  introduced  to  the  confounding  of  his  enemies.     Munro 
merely  relates  ;    he  does  not  comment  or  criticise  ;    he  had 
no  theories  of  his  own,  though  he  held  strong  opinions. 
But  he  tells,  or  we  read  between  his  lines,  how  Gustavus 
had  cast  the  traditions  of  the  past  behind  him,  thinking 
out    ideas    for    himself,    with    the    inventive    genius    of    a 
Napoleon.     We   see  him  anticipating  the  practice  of  the 
great   Frederick    in    the    handling  of  his   troops   and   the 
management  of  his  artillery,  using  spade  and  pick  on  all 
possible  occasions  with  a  skill  and  persistency  which  has 
never    been    surpassed,   and    only    approached   when    the 
Federals  in  the  American  Civil  War  had  been  taught  caution 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  6i 

by  misfortune.  Thanks  to  the  constitutions  of  his  Swedes, 
Scots,  and  Finlanders,  indifferent  to  cold  and  toughened 
to  famine,  in  a  succession  of  surprises  he  taught  the  Im- 
periahsts  and  the  tacticians  of  the  Cathohc  League  that 
there  need  be  no  winter  in  war.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
no  neglect  of  precaution  or  preparation  which  the  most 
careful  forethought  could  suggest.  He  expected  his 
soldiers  to  starve  on  occasion,  but  he  indulged  them  in 
almost  a  superfluity  of  clothing,  when  the  enemy  were 
forced  from  their  winter  quarters,  ragged  and  shoeless. 

Munro  made  the  regiment  his  home,  absorbed  in  the 
routine  of  his  profession.  Battles  and  marches,  sieges  and 
infalls,  were  indelibly  impressed  on  a  most  retentive  memory; 
for  we  cannot  suppose  that,  if  he  ever  kept  any  rough 
diaries,  they  survived  the  chances  of  war  and  the  old 
campaigner's  many  misadventures.  He  is  not  a  picturesque 
writer,  but  in  his  pages,  or  even  reading  between  the  lines, 
we  see  pictures,  as  realistic  or  suggestive  as  those  in  Schiller, 
of  the  horrors  of  the  war  that  devastated  Germany. 

Munro  had  what  was  rare  in  those  days,  the  unsoldierly 
virtue  of  sobriety.  The  cellars  of  the  Rhine,  the  Main, 
and  the  Danube  must  have  been  answerable  for  many  a 
muddled  enterprise,  for  many  a  deadly  ambush  or  surprise. 
With  the  Imperialists,  Wallenstein's  lavish  hospitalities  set 
an  evil  example,  which  his  generals,  less  temperate  than 
himself,  were  only  too  ready  to  follow.  In  that  respect 
Munro  had  the  sympathy  of  his  Swedish  Majesty,  who 
always  kept  a  tight  rein  on  his  troops,  but  although  per- 
sonally abstemious,  had  sometimes  to  sacrifice  himself  from 
political  motives.  At  Halle  the  King  was  to  entertain  the 
Saxon    Elector,    who    notoriously    carried    conviviality    to 


62  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

excess.  Munro  had  walked  into  the  banqueting-room 
where  the  supper  was  laid  out,  when  the  King  took  him 
ruefully  by  the  shoulder  and  whispered,  "  Munro,  you 
could  be  master  of  the  bottles  and  glasses  to-night,  in  the 
absence  of  old  Sir  Patrick  Ruthven  ;  but  you  want  the 
strength  of  head  to  relieve  me  on  such  an  occasion."  For 
in  that  Thirty  Years'  War,  in  the  words  of  Scott,  a  brave 
and  successful  soldier  was  a  companion  for  princes.  Princes 
compounded  for  arrears  of  pay  by  treating  colonels  and 
captains  with  flattering  familiarity.  Munro,  long  before 
he  had  made  a  name,  had  dined  with  Christian  of  Denmark 
in  his  "  gorgeous  and  pleasant  palace  "  ;  and  he  often  sat 
at  the  board  of  Gustavus,  when  the  King  had  learned  to 
value  him  as  one  of  his  most  reliable  officers. 

He  had  seen  much  rough  service  with  the  Danes  before 
his  regiment  in  1630  exchanged,  with  the  assent  of  Christian, 
into  the  Swedish  service.  Immediately  thereafter  he  had 
an  opportunity  of  showing  his  resolution  and  resource  in 
not  the  least  notable  episode  of  the  war.  He  had  orders 
from  Oxenstiern  to  embark  his  men  at  Pilau,  on  the  Bay 
of  Courland,  for  Wolgast  on  the  Pomeranian  coast.  He 
shipped  them  on  the  Lillynichol  and  the  Hound,  while  a 
small  "skoote"  or  boat  was  freighted  with  the  horses  and 
baggage.  The  favouring  breezes  blew  up  into  a  storm,  and 
they  ran  for  shelter  into  the  Bornehohne  roads.  There  the 
Lillynichol,  which  carried  Munro  and  his  fortunes,  was 
parted  from  her  consorts.  Though  she  had  sprung  a  leak 
he  put  to  sea  again  with  his  Highlanders,  pumping  by 
relays  of  forty-eight,  but  as  the  water  still  gained  on  them 
he  headed  for  Dantzic.  The  storm  abated  nothing  of  its 
violence,  and  they  were  roUing  water-logged  on  a  lee  shore, 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  63 

embayed  among  reefs  and  shoals.  Then  there  is  a  thrilHng 
and  detailed  story  of  the  shipwreck,  which  might  have 
suggested  materials  to  Falconer  or  Byron.  They  were  cast 
ashore  on  the  isle  of  Rugen,  clinging  through  next  forenoon 
to  the  wreck,  with  the  boiling  surf  making  a  clean  breach 
over  them.  All  their  boats  had  broken  loose  or  been 
swamped.  Munro  patiently  attended  the  Lord's  mercy 
with  prayers,  till  at  one  of  the  clock  he  turned  manfully 
to  help  himself.  He  landed  his  men  on  rafts  or  spars  ; 
he  was  the  last  to  leave  the  shattered  ship,  and  he  managed 
besides  to  save  some  of  the  arms. 

But  never  were  castaways  in  worse  case,  for  all  the 
baggage  was  on  the  missing  skoote,  and  as  the  ammunition 
had  been  lost,  the  matchlocks  were  useless.  He  learned 
from  friendly  boors  that  the  island  was  occupied  in  force 
by  the  Imperialists,  and  that  he  was  eighty  miles  from  the 
nearest  Swedish  outposts.  Not  unnaturally  he  was  "  in  a 
pitiful  feare,"  and  naturally  he  might  have  made  up  his 
mind  to  unconditional  surrender  ;  for  his  men  were  ex- 
hausted and  dispirited,  and  in  no  condition  for  fighting. 
Surrender  never  seems  to  have  suggested  itself.  He  had 
learned  from  the  boors  that  the  neighbouring  Castle  of 
Rugenwald  was  still  held  by  the  captain  for  the  Duke  of 
Pomerania,  though  the  town  under  its  shadow  was  in 
possession  of  the  enemy.  Munro  hid  his  men  among  the 
cliffs  till  nightfall,  and  then  despatched  a  messenger  to  the 
captain  to  tell  him  he  was  at  hand  with  300  shipwrecked 
Highlanders,  and  to  undertake,  if  he  were  furnished  with 
powder  and  ball,  to  clear  Rugenwald  of  the  Imperialists 
and  hold  it  for  the  Duke  and  the  King.  The  captain  was 
delighted,   but  prudently  gave   himself  leave   of  absence, 


64  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

while  he  sent  a  man  in  his  confidence  to  conduct  the  Scots 
into  the  castle  by  a  secret  passage.  There  they  armed 
themselves  :  thence  they  descended  on  the  town,  and  after 
some  desperate  fighting  mastered  the  garrison. 

The  surprise  was  daring  enough,  but  a  more  serious 
question  was  how  to  maintain  himself.  A  mounted 
messenger  sent  to  Stettin  had  brought  back  peremptory 
orders  from  the  King  to  hold  the  place  and  the  adjacent 
passes.  The  orders  had  been  anticipated  by  the  Scot,  who 
had  not  wasted  an  hour.  He  had  blown  up  the  bridge 
which  spanned  the  river  ;  he  had  armed  some  of  the  boors 
and  set  them  to  watch  the  passage,  and  many  of  the 
country  people,  with  his  own  Highlanders,  were  busily 
engaged  in  throwing  up  entrenchments  and  deepening  the 
moat.  Scouting  and  foraging  parties  were  sent  out  in  all 
directions,  for  though  the  King  had  strictly  enjoined  treat- 
ing the  country  folk  with  every  consideration,  that  did  not 
exclude  the  inevitable  levying  of  contributions.  Munro 
declares  he  had  kindly  welcome  from  the  inhabitants,  and 
found  noble  entertainment  everywhere  with  fish  and  fowl, 
fruit  and  venison.  For  nine  weeks  he  made  good  his 
position  against  incessant  alarms,  till  Hepburn  by  forced 
marches  brought  him  welcome  relief. 

Hepburn  took  over  the  command  as  senior  officer,  and 
Munro  was  ordered  to  join  the  forces  beleaguering  Colberg 
under  General  Kimphausen.  Colberg,  where  the  Imperialists 
had  stored  much  booty,  and  which  was  deemed  almost 
impregnable,  was  a  place  worth  winning  or  saving,  and 
they  were  known  to  be  advancing  in  force  to  the  relief. 
The  line  of  approach  was  by  a  pass,  guarded  by  the  town 
and   castle   of   Schelbeane,  and  Hepburn  with  a   troop  of 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  65 

horse  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  it.     His  report  was  that  it 
ought  to  be  occupied  immediately,  and  Kimphausen,  who 
is  said  to  have  had  no  love  for  the  Scots,  and  was  never 
sorry  to  send  them  on  desperate   service,  ordered  Munro 
to  march  thither  forthwith.     In  case  "  the  enemy  should 
pursue  him  " — which  was  sure  enough — he  was  to  fight  to 
the   last  man.     Munro  came,   saw,   and  did  not  like   the 
situation.     He  had  much  the  same  opinion  of  it  as  Dalgetty 
of  Ardenvohr,  for  with  its  ruined  works  he  deemed  it  a 
scurvy  hole  for  any  honest  cavalier  to  maintain  his  credit 
by.     "  I   was  evil  sped,   unless   the   Lord   extraordinarily 
would  show  mercy."     However,  he  set  to  work  to  make 
the  best  of  things  ;    laboured  indefatigably  night  and  day, 
for  three  days,  and  when  a  trumpeter  summoned  him  to 
treat,  from  an  army  drawn  up  for  battle,  returned  the  heroic 
answer,  that  he  had  no  orders  to  that  effect,  but  ample 
provision  of  powder  and  ball  at  their  service.     Having  no 
strength  to  hold  the  town,  after  some  desperate  fighting 
he  withdrew  into  the  castle.     Summoned  a  second  time,  as 
the  last  chance  of  having  quarter,  he  gave  a  similar  reply. 
He  had  fired  the  town  to  cover  his  retreat,  and  withdrawn 
among  blazing  houses  and  falling  roofs.     When  the  flames 
died  down,  the  enemy  followed  and  set  up  their  batteries 
within  forty  paces  of  his  castle  walls.     He  had  to  fear  the 
worst,  for  the  besiegers  outnumbered  him  by  sixteen  to 
one,  and  they  were  directed  by  MontecucuUi,  perhaps  the 
ablest  of  the  Imperial  generals  of  the  second  rank.     But 
MontecucuUi,  if  bold,  was  also  wary,  and  in  all  such  cases 
both  besiegers  and  besieged  had  to  calculate  the  chances 
of  impending   relief.     Home   was   known   to   have   joined 
Kimphausen,  and  it  was  certain  that  the  important  out- 


66  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

post  of  Schelbeane  would  not  be  sacrificed  without  a 
battle.  MontecucuUi  abruptly  broke  up  his  camp,  retiring 
under  cover  of  mist  and  darkness. 

I  am  not  rewriting  the  Memoirs  of  Munro,  but  selecting 
incidents  that  illustrate  the  times  and  the  men  who  figured 
in  them.  His  first  interview  with  the  immortal  Gustavus 
was  characteristic  of  both.  A  company  in  Munro's  regi- 
ment had  fallen  vacant,  and  the  King,  without  consulting 
him,  appointed  a  Captain  Dumaine.  Munro  declares  that  he 
did  not  object  to  the  man  but  to  breach  of  privilege.  "  By 
his  Majesty's  capitulation  he  had  the  freedom  to  place  the 
officers  of  his  regiment."  When  he  waited  on  the  King  he 
had  the  wit  to  take  his  friend  Hepburn  with  him,  who 
was  a  persona  grata.  Munro  sturdily  stuck  to  his  point, 
saying  that  Dumaine  was  a  foreigner  who  lacked  the  words 
of  command.  Gustavus  retorted  that  he  would  soon  learn 
them  ;  but  demanded  the  name  of  Munro's  nominee.  The 
answer  was  that  it  was  a  cavalier  who  deserved  well  of 
his  Majesty,  named  David  Munro.  His  Majesty,  jumping 
at  conclusions,  exclaimed  that  Munro,  to  appoint  a  cousin, 
would  actually  disobey  his  orders.  Then  Hepburn  inter- 
posed, and  the  matter  was  arranged  by  the  Major  con- 
senting on  this  occasion  to  waive  his  rights.  The  incident 
shows  how  Gustavus,  with  all  the  imperious  decision  that 
never  bent  in  matters  of  supreme  importance,  knew  how 
to  condescend  and  even  to  honour  valued  officers  when 
only  points  of  punctilio  were  involved. 

In  the  depth  of  that  bitter  winter,  and  apropos  to  the 
intaking  of  the  town  and  fortress  of  Dameine,  which  was 
most  valiantly  defended,  Munro  has  some  interesting 
remarks    on    his    Majesty's    methods    and    idiosyncrasy. 


HEPBURN    AND   MUNRO  67 

"  He  did  observe  his  Majesty's  dexterity  in  command, 
discharging  the  duties  of  several  officers ; "  in  fact,  he  was 
greatly  addicted  to  overdoing  himself.  When  his  mind 
was  made  up  there  was  no  moving  him.  "  Neither  did  he 
like  it  well  if  an  officer  was  not  so  capable  to  under- 
stand his  directions  as  he  was  ready  in  giving  them." 
"  Such  a  general  would  I  gladly  serve,  but  such  a  general 
I  shall  hardly  see,  whose  custom  was  to  be  the  first  and 
last  in  danger  himself."  And,  like  all  generals  of  genius, 
he  regulated  his  strategy  by  the  temperaments  of  his 
opponents.  "  He  knew  the  devices  and  engines  of  his 
enemies,  their  councils,  their  armies,  their  art,  their  dis- 
cipline, .  .  .  and  he  understood  well  that  an  armie  being 
brittle  like  glasse,  that  sometimes  a  vaine  and  idle  brute 
was  enough  to  ruine  them."  The  one  point  in  which  the 
King's  personal  conduct  conflicted  with  his  commands  was 
his  carelessness  in  exposing  himself  to  dangers.  He  set  an 
evil  example  to  officers  as  reckless  of  life  as  himself.  He 
always  thrust  himself  forward  into  the  hottest  of  the  fire, 
led  the  fiercest  of  the  charges  when  the  fortunes  of  battle 
were  in  suspense,  and  ultimately  paid  for  his  temerity  by 
his  glorious  death.  At  Lutzen  he  only  wore  a  buff  coat 
which  could  not  turn  a  musket  ball,  though  then  he  is  said 
to  have  had  the  sufficient  excuse  of  a  half-healed  wound. 
Rittmaster  Dalgetty  quotes  his  famous  exclamation,  "  Now 
shall  I  know  if  my  officers  love  me  by  their  putting  on 
their  armour  ;  since  if  my  officers  are  slain,  who  shall  lead 
my  soldiers  unto  victory  ?  "  And  the  Rittmaster  tells  how 
the  regiment  of  Finnish  Cuirassiers  was  reprimanded  and 
lost  their  kettledrums,  because  once  they  had  taken  per- 
mission to  march  unarmed,  leaving  their  corselets  on  the 


68  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

baggage  waggons.  Munro  relates  an  incident  at  the  leaguer 
of  Dameine,  significant  at  once  of  the  hero's  foolhardiness, 
and  of  the  good  humour  with  which  he  heard  the  remon- 
strances of  his  humbler  brothers-in-arms.  He  had  ventured 
far  forward  on  a  frozen  marsh,  sp3dng  into  the  enemy's 
works  with  a  prospect  glass.  The  ice  gave  way,  the  King 
was  immersed  to  his  middle,  but  fortunately  it  was  near 
Munro's  picket.  As  it  happened,  the  guard  there  was  com- 
manded by  that  favourite  of  the  King  who  had  been  forced 
on  the  regiment  against  the  Major's  wishes.  Captain 
Dumaine  rushed  to  the  rescue.  The  King  "  wagged  to  him 
to  retire,  lest  the  enemy  might  take  notice  of  them,"  but 
it  was  too  late.  Under  a  salvo  from  a  thousand  match- 
lock barrels  the  King  extricated  himself,  threaded  the  hail 
of  bullets  by  a  miracle,  and  sat  down  to  dry  himself  by  the 
guardroom  fire.  The  Captain,  being  a  bold-spoken  gentle- 
man and  well  bred,  began  very  familiarly  to  find  fault  with 
his  Majesty  for  his  forwardness  in  hazarding  his  person  in 
such  unnecessary  danger,  and  the  King,  having  patiently 
heard  him  out,  thanked  him  for  his  good  counsel,  and  could 
not  but  confess  his  fault.  Defiant  throughout,  he  went 
straight  to  dinner  in  a  cold  tent,  called  for  meat,  dined 
grossly,  took  a  great  draught  of  wine,  and  only  then  con- 
senting to  change  his  clothes,  turned  out  again  to  face  a 
sortie  from  the  enemy. 

Had  any  of  his  officers  on  duty  shown  such  misplaced 
zeal,  he  would  infallibly  have  been  placed  under  arrest. 
Probably  displeased  with  himself,  he  immediately  came 
down  upon  an  unlucky  Dutch  captain  whom  he  caught 
going  to  the  trenches  in  a  cloak.  He  had  him  recalled, 
sent  another  in  his  place — "  which  was  a  disgrace  to  the 


HEPBURN   AND   MUNRO  69 

captain  " — and  reproved  him  openly,  telling  him,  if  he  had 
intention  to  have  fought  well,  he  would  have  felt  no  cold, 
and  consequently  the  carrying  of  the  cloak  was  needless. 

Happily  for  himself,  Munro's  battaUon  was  not  in 
garrison  at  New  Brandenburg,  where  600  of  the  Highlanders 
were  mercilessly  slaughtered,  and  where  some  of  his  most 
valued  comrades  perished.  Their  leader,  Lindesay,  fell  in 
the  breach,  handling  his  pike  like  a  common  soldier.  For 
nine  days  behind  the  shattered  works  they  had  made 
desperate  resistance  against  great  odds.  Tilly  had  pushed 
the  siege  with  characteristic  determination,  and  Kimphausen 
had  defended  the  place  with  indomitable  courage,  for  relief 
was  daily  feared  or  expected.  The  news  of  the  catastrophe 
was  brought  to  the  Swedish  camp  by  two  Scottish  officers, 
who  swam  the  ditch  in  their  corselets  and  saved  themselves 
in  the  darkness.  Hot  as  was  the  Highland  blood,  the 
Highlanders  as  a  rule  were  generous  in  victory,  but  now 
there  was  a  universal  cry  for  vengeance,  and  soon  after 
the  massacre  of  New  Brandenburg  was  fearfully  revenged 
at  Frankfort-on-the-Oder. 

But  writing  afterwards  in  cold  blood,  Munro  has  one  of 
his  "  observations  "  to  make  on  the  affair,  and  considering 
the  ordinary  precedents  of  that  ruthless  war,  it  would  seem 
the  Scots  excited  themselves  unnecessarily.  They  knew 
the  risks  and  they  took  the  chances.  Tilly  had  twice 
offered  terms,  which  were  peremptorily  refused.  The  place, 
as  it  proved,  was  practically  untenable,  and  the  penalty  of 
defending  an  untenable  position  was  death.  It  was  all  a 
question  of  the  arrival  of  timely  succour,  and  Munro  dis- 
cusses the  delicate  dilemma  to  which  Kimphausen  found 
himself  reduced.      He  pronounces  him  not  void  of  blame 


70   ■  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

for  refusing  a  treaty  in  due  time,  seeing  he  had  no  certainty 
of  release  ;  and  being  left  to  his  own  discretion  by  his 
Majesty,  he  should  have  embraced  the  opportunity  of  time 
which,  once  past,  is  not  to  be  recovered.  It  is  better,  he 
adds,  to  be  in  safety  through  preventing  than  basely  to 
suffer  under  our  enemies,  occasion  being  past.  As  to 
which  it  can  only  be  said,  that  had  Munro's  practice  been 
conformable  to  these  sage  precepts,  he  would  never  have 
distinguished  himself  by  that  defence  of  Rugenwald  which 
gave  him  a  long  lift  up  the  ladder  of  promotion. 

The  discussion  might  have  been  spared.     Though  Munro 

did  not  know  it,  the  lives  of  the  vaHant  garrison  might 

have  been  saved  had  not  a  despatch  miscarried.     All  had 

depended   on   precarious   communication   in   an   unsettled 

country.     The  first  orders  to  Kimphausen  had  been  to  hold 

out  :    they  were  countermanded  when  pressing  strategical 

considerations  decided  Gustavus  to  march  upon  Frankfort- 

on-the-Oder.      The    news   of   the    fall   and    the   slaughter 

reached  the  army  when  on  the  march,  and  the  Scottish 

brigade  consoled  itself  with  the  hopes  of  a  speedy  and 

deadly  revenge.     Yet  the  assault  on  Frankfort-on-the-Oder 

in    the    circumstances    was    one    of    the    most    daring    of 

Gustavus'  audacious  ventures.     Frankfort  was  supposed  to 

be  as  strong  as  it  was  rich  ;    it  was  garrisoned  by  9000 

veterans  under  three  such  distinguished  leaders  as  Schom- 

berg,    Tiefenbach,    and    Montecuculli ;     and    the    terrible 

septuagenarian  Tilly  lay  at  no  great  distance,  with  more 

than  twice  that  number  of  men,  ready  to  hasten  to  the 

relief.     The  little  army  of  Gustavus  barely  outnumbered 

the  garrison,  but  they  were  all  picked  men  and  admirably 

disciplined.     Munro  blames  the  Imperialist  generals  for  not 


HEPBURN    AND   MUNRO  71 

marching  boldly  out  to  meet  the  Swedes  in  a  fair  field, 
laying  down  the  sage  doctrine,  that  "  it's  never  good  to 
be  always  defending " ;  but  though  the  defence  was  stub- 
born as  the  attack  was  resolute,  events  seem  to  show 
that  their  decision  was  wise.  Munro's  story  of  the  in- 
take is  very  typical  of  the  innumerable  storms  of  fortified 
places  during  the  war  that  brought  wreck  and  ruin  to  so 
many  flourishing  towns.  It  illustrates,  too,  the  pomp  and 
the  pleasantries  as  well  as  the  horrors  and  terrors  of  the  war. 

The  Swedish  King  threw  out  his  light  horsemen  to 
scout  the  country  towards  Tilly's  leaguer.  Then  "himself 
discharging  the  duty  of  a  General-Major  (as  became  him 
well),  he  besought  the  aid  of  Sir  John  Hepburn  to  put  the 
army  in  order  of  battle."  It  advanced  with  drums  beating, 
trumpets  sounding,  and  colours  displayed,  "  till  coming 
near  the  town  and  seeing  no  show  of  opposition,  knowing 
of  the  nearness  of  our  enemies,  it  was  resolved  to  press 
on  of  a  sudden  to  take  the  place."  Nevertheless,  unlike 
Henri  Quatre  at  Cahors,  the  more  cautious  Gustavus  had 
not  recourse  to  immediate  storm.  In  consultation  with 
Hepburn  he  promptly  distributed  his  brigades  so  as  to 
make  a  close  investment.  Then  there  was  some  warm 
work  in  the  way  of  reconnoitring.  The  King  himself,  with 
his  prospect  glass,  was  in  the  front,  as  was  his  custom. 
The  Imperialists  opened  fire  ;  Colonel  Teufel  of  the  staff 
was  shot  in  the  arm,  his  Majesty  making  great  mourn  for 
him,  and  Munro's  lieutenant  was  shot  in  the  leg.  The 
enemy,  hanging  out  a  goose  in  derision,  made  a  sally  in 
force,  but  after  some  sharp  skirmishing  were  driven  back 
into  the  town. 

Next  day  was  Palm  Sunday,  when  his  Majesty  with  the 


72  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

whole  army  served  God  in  their  best  apparel ;  the  King 
following  up  the  sermon  with  a  stirring  appeal  to  his 
soldiers,  imploring  them  to  take  these  ill  days  in  patience, 
in  the  hope  of  happier  times,  when  they  should  drink  wine 
instead  of  water.  Indeed,  after  much  blood-letting  they 
were  immediately  to  have  wine  enough  and  to  spare.  For 
the  preaching  of  the  King  was  promptly  followed  up.  As 
it  was  drawing  towards  dusk  he  called  a  captain  of 
Hepburn's  regiment,  told  him  to  don  a  hght  corselet,  to 
call  for  a  sergeant  and  a  dozen  volunteers,  to  wade  the 
graff,  to  climb  the  fortification,  and  to  find  out  if  men 
could  be  conveniently  lodged  between  the  mud  wall  of  the 
town  and  the  outer  ramparts  of  stone.  Such  daring 
attempts  were  successfully  made,  although  by  single  men, 
at  San  Sebastian,  and  at  Bhurtpore  when  besieged  by  Lord 
Combermere,  and  in  this  case  Captain  Gunter  came  back 
in  safety  with  his  little  party  to  report  favourably.  The 
storm  was  decided  on  ;  the  storming  columns  formed  up, 
and  all  the  cannon,  great  and  small,  were  charged — the 
King  had  brought  a  long  train  of  artillery  with  him — that 
the  clouds  of  smoke  from  the  general  discharge  might 
mask  the  rush  in  the  impending  assault.  So  it  came  off, 
and  Munro  in  the  turmoil  can  only  speak  for  what  he  did 
and  saw  himself.  To  the  roar  of  the  guns  his  column 
sprang  forward ;  and  under  veil  of  the  smoke  they  waded 
the  ditch,  up  to  the  waists  in  mud  and  water,  and  climbed 
the  scarp  to  find  themselves  confronted  by  palisades,  well 
fastened  and  set  fast  in  the  waU.  Those  obstacles  were 
nothing  so  formidable  as  the  chevaux-de-frise  and  spiked 
planking  which  PhiUipin  prepared  for  our  stormers  at 
Badajoz,  nor  to  the  diabolical  Russian  arrangements  for 


HEPBURN   AND   MUNRO  73 

the  reception  of  the  Japanese  at  Port  Arthur.  But  the 
defenders,  who  fought  desperately  afterwards,  seem  to  have 
been  taken  by  surprise  and  panic-stricken,  for  Munro 
remarks  that,  had  they  not  retreated  in  great  fear,  he  could 
not  have  entered  but  with  great  hazard. 

They  retreated,  but  rallied  again  to  make  a  stand  at  a 
sally-port  in  the  inner  wall,  "  whence  with  cannon  and 
musketry  they  did  cruel  and  pitiful  execution  on  our 
musketeers  and  pikemen."  Munro  does  not  mention 
Dalgetty,  but  it  was  then  that  he,  with  "  stout  Hepburn, 
valiant  Lumsdale,  and  courageous  Munro,"  made  entry  at 
point  of  pike.  Hepburn  was  shot  above  the  knee  in  the 
leg  of  which  he  was  lame  before.  "  Who  said  to  me, 
'  Bully  Munro,  I  am  shot,'  at  which  I  was  wondrous  sorry." 
That  reminds  us  of  Wellington  riding  with  Lord  Anglesea. 
His  major,  a  resolute  cavalier,  was  shot  dead,  and  it  was 
then  that  Lumsdale  and  Munro,  seizing  pikes  respectively, 
forced  the  narrow  passage,  shoulder  to  shoulder.  They 
made  a  stand  within  till  their  pikemen  were  drawn  up  and 
"  starched  "  with  muskets  ;  then  there  was  another  rush 
on  the  enemy,  who  fell  back  in  disorder.  Munro  and 
Lumsdale  charged  up  one  street  ;  General  Banner  with  a 
fresh  body  of  musketeers  pressed  the  pursuit  up  another. 
The  town  on  the  hither  side  of  the  river  was  taken,  "  the 
enemy  being  well  beaten "  ;  the  cries  for  quarter  were 
answered  by  yells  of  "  Remember  New  Brandenburg,"  and 
small  mercy  was  shown,  except  to  some  officers  who  were 
worth  saving  and  held  to  ransom.  It  must  be  owned  that 
the  garrison  deserved  their  fate  ;  they  were  the  brigand 
bands  who  under  ruthless  leaders  had  been  savagely 
ravaging  Brandenburg  and  Pomerania. 


74  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Munro  says  something  on  hearsay  of  what  had  been 
passing  elsewhere.  The  blue  and  yellow  brigades,  being 
esteemed  of  all  the  army  both  resolute  and  courageous, 
were  told  off  to  enter  "  the  Irish  quarter."  For  the 
weakest  part  of  the  defences  had  been  commended  to  the 
charge  of  the  Irish  Celts,  under  command  of  the  chivalrous 
Walter  Butler,  a  cadet  of  the  house  of  Ormond.  The  blue 
and  yellow  brigades,  brave  as  they  were,  had  their  work 
cut  out  for  them.  Numbers  prevailed  in  the  end,  but  the 
Irish,  though  weak,  stood  to  it  with  pike  and  sword  till 
most  part  fell  fighting.  Butler,  with  a  shattered  arm  and 
his  thigh  transfixed,  was  a  prisoner  ;  and  as  for  the  rank 
and  file,  "  those  valiant  Irishes,"  as  Dalgetty  says,  "  being 
all  put  to  the  sword,  did  nevertheless  gain  immortal  praise 
and  honour." 

Munro's  brigade,  with  all  its  discipline,  piety,  and 
morality,  had  no  sooner  cleared  the  streets,  heaping  them 
with  corpses,  than  it  broke  loose  from  control.  "  The 
fury  past,  the  whole  street  being  full  of  coaches  and  rusty 
waggons  richly  furnished  with  all  sorts  of  riches,  as  plate, 
jewels,  gold,  money,  clothes,  &c.,  whereof  all  men  that 
were  careless  of  their  duties  were  too  careful  in  making  of 
booty,  that  I  did  never  see  officers  less  obeyed."  The 
temptation  was  great,  for  as  at  Vittoria  of  the  Peninsular 
War,  Frankfort  was  a  storehouse  of  all  the  plunder  the 
Imperialists  had  been  gathering  in  the  course  of  their 
campaigning.  And  Gustavus,  like  Tilly  at  the  sack  of 
Magdeburg,  did  not  enter  the  town  till  the  "  fury  "  was 
over.  It  would  have  been  attempting  the  impossible  to 
rein  in  his  hot-blooded  soldiers  from  slaughter,  pillage,  and 
debauch  ;   and  indeed  he  is  said  to  have  cheered  Hepburn's 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  75 

column  to  the  storm  by  telling  these  Scots  to  remember 
New  Brandenburg.  But  the  Swedes  and  Scots  only 
slaughtered  men  in  arms,  whereas  Tilly's  ruffians  slew 
indiscriminately,  tossing  infants  into  the  flames  and  sparing 
neither  age  nor  sex. 

Lansberg  was  the  last  Pomeranian  fortress  left  to  the 
Imperialists.  Gustavus,  with  his  habitual  rapidity  of  action, 
lost  no  time.  Home  had  already  enveloped  it  with 
squadrons  of  cavalry,  when  the  King  marched  from  Frank- 
fort with  3200  musketeers,  800  horse,  and  a  battery  of 
artillery  under  Tortensohn,  his  best  artillerist.  Hepburn 
was  in  immediate  charge  of  the  column,  though  still  so 
weak  that  he  could  scarcely  sit  in  his  saddle.  Munro  was 
second  in  command.  It  was  their  duty  to  see  that  the 
force  was  well  supplied  with  entrenching  tools,  with  sledge- 
hammers, and  ladders.  It  was  a  bold  undertaking,  for  the 
defenders  twice  outnumbered  the  assailants,  and  they  were 
all  seasoned  veterans.  On  the  night  of  their  arrival,  Munro 
and  his  Highlanders  lay  down  before  a  heavily  armed 
sconce,  protected  by  a  deep  graff  of  running  water.  Munro 
was  ordered  to  go  to  work  at  once,  entrenching  himself, 
throwing  up  counter-batteries,  and  running  forward  ap- 
proaches. He  laboured  indefatigably,  and  thought  he  had 
acquitted  himself  well  when  his  Majesty  turned  up  before 
break  of  day.  "  Finding  the  works  not  so  far  advanced 
as  he  did  expect,  he  fell  a  chiding  of  me,  and  no  excuse 
would  mitigate  his  passion  till  he  had  first  considered  on 
the  circumstances,  and  then  he  was  sorry  that  he  had 
offended  me  without  reason.  But  his  custom  was  that  he 
was  worse  to  be  pleased  in  this  kind  than  any  other  of  his 
commands,  being  ever  impatient." 


76  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

The  King  himself  had  not  wasted  time.  He  had  found 
a  blacksmith  in  the  hamlet  where  he  slept  who  undertook 
to  show  a  path  over  the  western  swamps  and  a  secret 
passage  into  the  town,  if  the  deep  ditch  could  be  bridged. 
Floating  bridges  had  already  been  constructed  ;  they  were 
flung  across  graff  and  morass,  and  Munro  with  250  of  his 
musketeers,  and  a  colonel  with  as  many  dismounted 
dragoons,  gingerly  followed  the  lead  of  the  blacksmith  across 
planks  that  threatened  submersion  under  their  measured 
tread.  The  sconce  was  taken  after  some  sharp  fighting, 
and  Hepburn  coming  limping  up  with  the  supports,  they 
entrenched  themselves  against  a  possible  outfall  from  the 
town.  But  the  Imperialists  lost  heart  and  consequently 
honour.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  they  sent  a  drummer  to 
Munro  in  his  sconce  to  parley  for  quarter  ;  the  drummer 
was  blinded  and  passed  on  to  the  King,  who  condescended 
to  take  the  garrison  over  to  mercy.  But  he  was  em- 
barrassed by  the  very  natural  apprehension  that  they  might 
make  trouble  when  they  saw  to  what  a  feeble  force  they 
had  surrendered  a  fortress  so  formidable,  for  it  had  thrice 
baffled  Gustavus  before,  and  no  pains  had  been  subse- 
quently spared  in  strengthening  it.  The  garrison  was  not 
suffered  to  march  out  until  he  had  been  strongly  reinforced 
from  Frankfort.  The  blacksmith  was  made  burgomaster 
of  the  captured  town,  and  had  a  handsome  gratuity  in 
ducats  into  the  bargain. 

The  storm  of  Frankfort  was  to  be  balanced  by  the  sack 
of  Magdeburg.  Gustavus  would  gladly  have  saved  that 
great  and  friendly  city,  but  the  princes  of  North-eastern 
Germany  had  been  hanging  back,  and  his  communications 
must  be  made  sure  before  advancing.     After  taking  Lans- 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  77 

berg  and  liberating  Pomerania,  he  moved  on  Berlin  to 
bring  the  vacillating  Brandenburg  Margrave,  his  own 
brother-in-law,  to  reason.  The  menace  was  enough,  and 
then  Munro  and  his  Scots  were  withdrawn  into  winter 
quarters  at  Old  Brandenburg.  Munro  liked  the  quarters 
well,  though  he  thought  it  a  dreary  town,  situated  between 
sandy  wastes  and  morasses.  But  the  beer  was  good,  and 
"  they  did  try  it  merrily,"  till  quarrels  broke  out  between  the 
Scots  and  the  Swedes,  when  after  a  time  they  came  to  the 
sensible  conclusion  that  their  brawling  had  best  be  reserved 
for  the  common  enemy.  Munro  liked  his  comforts  when 
he  could  get  them,  and  in  one  of  his  innumerable  digressions 
he  discusses  the  various  vintages  and  breweries  of  Germany. 
For  nine  years,  he  says,  the  regiment  had  ever  the  luck 
to  be  in  excellent  quarters,  where  they  did  get  much  good 
wine  and  great  quantity  of  good  beer.  Hamburg  and 
Rostock  were  deserving  of  high  commendation,  but  for  his 
own  part  he  gave  the  preference  to  the  Calvinistic  Seebester, 
as  he  once  told  the  Chancellor  Oxenstiern.  "  I  said  it 
pleased  my  taste  well.  He  answered  merrily,  '  No  wonder 
it  tastes  well  to  your  palate,  being  the  good  beer  of  that 
ill  religion.'  "  In  the  Major's  opinion  the  worst  of  that 
profusion  of  strong  liquors  was,  that  the  soldiers  were  ill  to 
be  commanded,  and  more  amenable  when  reduced  to  fair 
water. 

The  arrival  of  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton  with  6000  men, 
raised  chiefly  in  Scotland  by  an  understanding  with  King 
Charles,  did  much  to  change  the  state  of  affairs.  It 
brought  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  and  the  heroic  Bernard  of 
SaxerWeimar  to  the  Swedish  standards,  and  it  went  far  to 
confirm    the    wavering    resolution    of    the    more    powerful 


78  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Elector  of  Saxony.  In  summer  Munro  and  his  men  had 
begun  to  weary  of  the  fleshpots  of  Old  Brandenburg,  more 
especially  as  a  virulent  epidemic  had  broken  out  in  the 
town,  when  the  whole  Swedish  army  concentrated  to  m<  ve 
westward  to  observe  the  movements  of  Tilly.  The  fall  of 
Frankfort  had  led  to  the  sack  of  Magdeburg.  Too  late  to 
relieve  Frankfort,  Tilly  had  turned  back  to  revenge  himself 
on  that  great  and  flourishing  city.  Then  Gustavus  followed 
westward  to  fortify  himself,  after  his  habit,  at  Werben 
on  the  Elbe,  an  admirable  strategical  position.  Strong  in 
his  entrenchments,  he  repulsed  a  night  attack  with  no  little 
loss  to  the  assailants.  Then  Tilly,  who  had  been  invariably 
the  victor  in  innumerable  pitched  battles,  marched  back 
into  Saxony  to  force  the  hand  of  the  Elector,  who  was 
tampering  with  the  Swedes.  It  was  a  fatal  stroke  of 
policy  and  strategy,  and  thenceforth  fortune  would  seem 
to  have  deserted  him.  The  superstitious  Germans  said  he 
was  haunted  by  the  spirits  of  the  helpless  folk  who  had 
been  mercilessly  butchered  at  Magdeburg.  The  Elector, 
irritated  by  the  cruelties  inflicted  on  his  country,  threw 
himself  into  the  arms  of  the  Swedes,  so  Arnheim  and  his 
Saxons  were  aligned  with  them  at  the  decisive  battle  of 
the  Breitenfeld. 

Leipzic  on  the  Breitenfeld  was  a  duel  between  the  fore- 
most champions  of  the  conflicting  creeds  and  policies. 
Tilly,  as  we  see  in  his  despatches,  held  Gustavus  in  the 
highest  respect  ;  and  the  King,  as  wary  in  counsel  as  he 
was  bold  in  action,  knew  well  the  formidable  antagonist 
he  had  to  face.  But  when  the  treaty  with  Saxony  was 
signed,  he  felt  bound  to  fight  and  arrest  the  ruthless  course 
of  the  enemy.    TiUy,  it  is  said,  though  in  far  superior  force, 


HEPBURN    AND    MUNRO  79 

in  his  admiration  of  the  mihtary  genius  of  Gustavus,  would 
have  deferred  the  decisive  moment.  Yet  probably  the 
sympathies  of  the  fiery  old  hero  were  with  the  impetuous 
Pappenheim  and  other  lieutenants,  who  declared  that  with- 
drawing before  inferior  forces  would  be  intolerable  dis- 
grace. Once  committed  to  the  chances  of  combat,  Tilly 
threw  himself  into  it,  heart  and  soul.  He  and  his  rival 
were  ever  in  the  forefront  of  battle,  heading  the  cavalry 
onsets  regardless  of  their  lives,  and  that  recklessness  is  the 
only  charge  that  has  been  alleged  against  their  skilful 
leadership.  Gustavus,  it  is  true,  was  quietly  attired  in  a 
suit  of  plain  grey  under  his  corselet,  though  a  long  green 
plume  floated  from  his  helmet.  But  Tilly  was  conspicuous 
as  always,  with  the  dwarfish  figure  bent  over  the  saddlebow, 
with  the  long  drawn  face  and  the  drooping  whiskers,  in  the 
suit  of  green  satin,  much  the  worse  for  wear,  and  the  high- 
peaked  hat  with  the  drooping  red  feather.  Never,  indeed, 
throughout  the  war  had  field  been  more  fiercely  contested. 

The  plain  of  Leipzic  was  ideal  ground  for  skilful 
manoeuvring — for  a  fair  fight  and  no  favour.  The  armies 
had  bivouacked  within  a  mile  of  each  other,  and  the  lines 
of  the  opposing  watchfires  clearly  defined  the  positions. 
Munro,  whose  old  fires  burned  up  as  he  wrote,  describes 
with  unusual  animation  and  lucidity  all  of  which  he  was 
an  eye-witness.  "  As  the  larke  beganne  to  peep,"  they 
were  standing  to  arms,  to  the  blare  of  the  trumpet  and  the 
roll  of  the  drum.  Having  meditated  in  the  night  and 
resolved  with  their  consciences,  they  began  the  morning 
with  offering  souls  and  bodies  as  living  sacrifices,  with  con- 
fession of  their  sins  and  lifting  up  hearts  to  Heaven  by 
public  prayers  and  secret  sighs  and  groans.     Thus  shrieved 


8o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  assoilzied  in  Protestant  fashion,  they  marched  forward 
a  little  and  halted.  The  King  bestirred  himself  in  the 
ordering  of  the  battle  ;  the  Swedish  host  to  his  right,  the 
Saxons  to  the  left.  In  the  forefront  of  the  Swedish  centre 
were  three  regiments,  two  of  them  Scottish,  one  Dutch, 
but  all  three  under  Scottish  colonels.  Munro  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  musketeers  of  the  right  fiank.  Adopting  his 
novel  tactics,  which  proved  disastrous  to  the  Imperialists, 
Gustavus  formed  up  his  foot  in  open  order,  mingling  them 
with  squadrons  of  cavalry,  so  that  the  musket  should 
support  the  pistol  and  sabre.  It  would  seem  more  ques- 
tionable that  before  each  brigade  were  batteries  of  heavy 
guns,  and  of  the  lighter  artillery,  which  was  loaded  and 
fired  fast,  to  the  great  discomfiture  of  the  enemy.  Behind 
were  three  brigades  of  reserve  under  Hepburn,  which  after- 
wards did  decisive  service  to  the  left,  when  the  day  had 
been  well-nigh  lost  by  the  flight  of  the  raw  Saxon  levies. 

At  "twelve  of  the  clock"  the  battle  was  joined.  The 
cannon  began  to  roar,  tearing  great  breaches  through  the 
advanced  brigades,  who,  as  Munro  says,  anticipating 
Beauregard's  remark  on  Jackson,  stood  passive  and  firm 
as  a  wall  for  two  hours  and  a  half.  Then  out  of  the  clouds 
of  dust  and  smoke  came  furious  charging  of  the  Imperial 
reiters.  Time  after  time  they  were  met  and  forced  back 
by  the  Swedish  and  Finnish  horse,  who  with  stolid  northern 
phlegm  never  unloosed  a  pistol  till  the  enemy  had  fired, 
after  each  discharge  falling  back  behind  the  musketeers, 
who  poured  in  their  volleys  at  point  blank.  For  a  space 
the  smoke  and  chalk  clouds  were  so  dense  that  nothing 
was  to  be  distinguished.  Then  two  great  battalions  of  foot 
were  seen  on  the  left  flank  of  the  reserves,  which  most 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  8i 

supposed  to  be  Saxons.  Munro  was  more  clear-sighted. 
"  I  certified  his  Majesty  they  were  enemies  ;  "  whereupon 
the  King  and  Hepburn  took  the  reserves  to  the  left,  to 
retrieve  the  doubtful  fortunes  of  the  day,  and  repulse  the 
last  desperate  onset  of  the  foe,  recklessly  led  on  by  Tilly 
in  person.  Meanwhile  Munro  had  led  his  wing  of  the 
musketeers  against  another  body  of  the  enemy  who  were 
standing  firm  by  their  batteries.  He  beat  them  from  the 
cannon,  which  he  captured,  and  consequently,  as  he  says, 
remained  master  of  the  field,  but  the  smoke-pall  had  come 
down  thicker  than  ever,  and  he  could  see  nothing  of  either 
friend  or  foe.  So  he  caused  a  drummer  to  beat  the  "  Scots' 
March  "  till  it  cleared,  to  collect  surviving  friends  and  scare 
away  the  scattering  enemies.  The  battle  being  won,  his 
Majesty  did  chiefly  ascribe  the  glory  to  his  Swedish  horse- 
men and  his  Scottish  foot.  Indeed  Munro  seems  to  claim 
more  than  his  fair  share  of  it,  for  he  says  the  victory  and 
credit  of  the  day  was  given  to  their  brigade  as  being  last 
engaged,  and  it  had  the  royal  thanks  and  promises  of 
reward  in  public  audience  in  presence  of  the  whole  army. 
Doubtless  the  thanks  were  paid  down  on  the  nail,  but  we 
hear  nothing  of  the  promises  of  reward  being  redeemed. 

That  night  they  encamped  on  the  field  of  battle,  at 
blazing  fires  made  of  abandoned  ammunition-waggons  and 
pikes  "  that  were  cast  away  for  want  of  good  fellows  to  use 
them."  Among  the  living  was  much  merry-making  and 
rejoicing,  though  there  was  a  melancholy  absence  of  drink 
at  the  night-wake  of  their  dead  comrades,  which  must  have 
come  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  Highlanders,  who  always 
celebrated  obsequies  with  a  carouse. 

Munro  regrets  that  he  missed  by  a  day  the   storming 


82  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

of  Marienburg,  where  his  countrymen  led  the  assault  in 
what  he  describes  as  the  most  desperate  service  done  in 
Dutchland  during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  wars. 
After  the  Breitenfeldt,  after  investing  Leipzic  and  occupy- 
ing Halle,  his  Majesty  had  been  "  minded  to  pay  a  visit  " 
to  his  inveterate  priestly  enemies,  the  Bishops  of  Bamberg 
and  Wiirtzburg.  He  marched  to  Erfurt  through  the 
Thuringenwald,  and  there  broke  up  his  army  into  two 
divisions,  appointing  Wiirtzburg  as  the  rallying-place.  The 
troops  marching  through  Franconia  were  commanded  by 
Lieutenant-General  Bauditzen,  with  Hepburn  as  Brigadier- 
General.  Coming  to  Wiirtzburg,  they  summoned  the  town, 
which  surrendered  on  favourable  terms.  But  the  soldiers 
had  withdrawn  to  the  great  Castle  of  Marienburg,  which, 
as  Dugald  Dalgetty  would  have  said,  "overcrowed  it,"  and 
which  Munro  describes  emphatically  as  "  a  strong  strength." 
It  was  deemed  so  strong  indeed  that  the  Prince-Bishop  of 
Franconia  had  lodged  his  treasure  there  with  an  easy 
mind  ;  his  wealthy  subjects  had  followed  his  example,  and 
in  the  wine-vaults  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock  were  stored 
the  choicest  vintages  of  the  Steinberg.  Nor  was  his  con- 
fidence altogether  misplaced,  for  Marienburg  had  been  to 
Franconia  what  the  impregnable  Konigstein  was  to  Saxony. 
Moreover,  he  had  sure  intelligence  that  TiUy  and  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  with  50,000  men,  were  coming  to  the  relief 
by  forced  marches. 

The  castle  was  connected  with  the  town  by  the  massive 
bridge  of  grey  antiquity,  which,  like  that  over  the  Moldau 
at  Prague,  is  embellished  by  the  statues  of  saints  and 
saintly  prelates.  The  retiring  garrison  had  broken  down 
one  of  the  arches,  and  the  gap  was  commanded  and  raked 


HEPBURN    AND    MUNRO  83 

by  the  fire  of  the  castle  batteries.  "  A  single,  long,  bending 
plank  had  been  thrown  over  the  broken  arch,  so  that 
it  seemed  a  hazard  or  torment  to  any  man  to  pass  over." 
"There  were  valorous  officers  and  soldiers  who  would 
rather  adventure  to  goe  before  the  mouth  of  the  cannon  " 
than  to  cross  that  hair-like  bridge  of  Al  Sirat.  But  time 
pressed  and  the  King  had  recourse  to  the  Scots  brigade. 
Sir  James  Ramsay,  surnamed  the  Black,  and  Sir  John 
Hamilton  were  called  upon,  the  King  knowing  that  if  they 
refused,  no  others  would  undertake  the  service.  They 
were  commanded,  with  their  musketeers,  to  effect  the 
passage  and  clear  a  way  to  the  castle  for  the  rest  of  the 
army.  The  Scottish  colonels  went  as  warily  as  bravely  to 
work  ;  with  a  few  picked  men  they  tumbled  into  some 
small  boats — it  much  resembled  Wellington's  passage  of 
the  Douro — setting  the  musketeers  to  fire  before  they 
beached  the  boats.  "  Once  happily  landed  and  beginning 
to  skirmish,  their  soldiers  they  left  behinde,  seeing  their 
officers  and  comrades  engaged,  to  helpe  them  they  ranne 
over  the  planke  so  fast  as  they  could  runne,  till  at  last 
they  past  all  to  make  a  strong  head  against  the  enemy." 
Ramsay  was  shot  lame  in  the  arm  ;  Hamilton  succeeded 
to  the  command,  pressing  the  garrison  so  hard  at  all  points 
within  their  works  that  Gustavus  passed  most  of  his  army 
over.  Apparently  the  garrison  was  panic-stricken.  Before 
dawn  the  place  was  rushed,  for  they  had  neither  raised  the 
drawbridges  nor  lowered  the  portcullis.  Short  shrift  was 
given  to  the  defenders  :  "  Magdeburg  quarter  "  was  the 
answer  to  all  appeals  for  mercy. 

The  King  had  thrown  out  detachments  on  all  sides  till 
there   were   barely   10,000  men  left  at  headquarters.     At 


84  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

that  time  both  Hepburn  and  Munro  were  in  Wiirtzburg 
with  the  brigade.  One  evening  Munro  was  seated  com- 
fortably at  supper,  when  a  royal  footman  hurried  upstairs 
to  tell  him  his  Majesty  was  waiting  below.  That  evening 
a  courier  had  come  "  bloody  with  spurring,  fiery  red  with 
speed,"  to  say  that  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  was  at  hand 
with  five  times  the  Swedish  strength.  The  news  was  true, 
though  the  numbers  were  exaggerated.  The  King  had 
come  out  at  once  to  beat  up  Hepburn,  but  missing  his 
quarters  had  stumbled  on  those  of  Munro.  He  ordered  the 
Scot  to  get  the  brigade  under  arms  at  once,  and  to  send 
Hepburn  to  meet  him  on  the  parade  ground.  Eight  hundred 
musketeers  mustered  in  the  darkness  and  marched  out  on 
a  blustering  October  night,  neither  Hepburn  nor  Munro 
having  an  idea  of  their  destination.  All  they  knew  was 
that  the  King  was  riding  alongside  of  them  in  gloomy 
abstraction,  from  which  they  augured  that  there  was 
serious  work  before  them.  When  he  broke  the  silence  it 
was  to  tell  them  that  his  purpose  was  to  defend  Ochsenfurt, 
the  Franconian  Oxford,  by  help  of  their  handful  of 
musketeers  against  Lorraine  and  his  army.  Eighty  troopers 
were  in  advance,  and  towards  the  small  hours  the  weary 
foot-soldiers  were  in  position  on  the  bridge  or  lying  by 
their  arms  in  Ochsenfurt  market-place.  At  break  of  day 
a  scouting  party  of  the  cavalry  were  driven  back  by  a 
squadron  of  the  Imperialists.  A  company  of  the  musketeers 
sent  off  in  support  had  to  retire  with  the  horse  before  over- 
whelming numbers.  Then  Munro  led  out  a  hundred  more, 
and  delivered  the  attack  with  "  such  a  noise  of  drums  " 
and  so  determined  a  spirit  that  the  Imperialists  believed 
he  had  the  Swedish  army  at  his  back  and  beat  a  retreat 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  85 

in  their  turn.  They  had  better  information  soon,  and 
Hepburn,  unsupported,  was  in  extreme  anxiety.  All  that 
man  could  do  he  did  to  defend  the  ruined  walls  and  their 
approaches  ;  he  threw  down  houses,  he  felled  trees,  and 
grubbed  hedges ;  he  improvised  loopholed  stockades  with 
firing  platforms  behind  them.  It  was  a  case  "  where  no 
cavalier  could  gain  credit  without  overmuch  hazard,  yet 
such  a  master  would  be  served."  The  enemy  waited  too 
long.  On  the  third  night  there  was  such  a  noise  of  their 
trumpets  and  drums,  as  if  heaven  and  earth  were  going 
together :  no  one  doubted  that  a  general  storm  was 
imminent  :  the  gates  were  even  closed  against  the  horse- 
guards  who  had  been  beaten  in  against  the  walls  ;  which 
shows  how  desperate  the  situation  was  deemed  by  such  a 
cool  veteran  as  Hepburn.  Then  he  was  delivered  by  some 
unexplained  miracle  from  the  very  jaws  of  destruction. 
The  host  of  the  Imperialists  was  smitten  by  such  a  panic 
as  scared  the  Assyrians  from  the  siege  of  Samaria.  When 
Hepburn  looked  out  in  the  belated  November  dawn,  they 
were  vanishing  in  clouds  of  dust  which  veiled  their  retiring 
on  Nuremberg. 

Campaigning  in  those  times  was  not  only  a  game  of 
hazard,  but  also  a  game  of  luck,  which  was  perhaps  not 
the  least  of  its  chief  attractions.  You  might  be  ordered  to 
run  your  head  against  almost  impracticable  stoneworks, 
or  sent  to  overrun  a  rich  country,  relatively  defenceless. 
After  Marienburg  and  Ochsenfurt  the  Scotch  brigade 
separated.  Two  hundred  of  them  under  Colonel  Hanan,  "  a 
discreet  cavalier  of  good  command  and  conduct,  also 
valorous,"  were  sent  down  the  Main  well  provided  with 
field  guns,  to  reduce  all  the  castles  as  they  went  along. 


86  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

None  of  those  somewhat  neglected  fortresses  gave  much 
trouble,  and  they  rejoined  their  comrades  laden  with  booty. 
Munro's  division  was  also  fortunate,  though  he  leaves  us 
to  infer  th«-.«  looting,  and  for  once  they  were  revelling  in  the 
fulness  of  plenty.  In  his  grateful  moralising  he  waxes 
eloquent  :  "  This  march  being  profitable  as  it  was  pleasant 
to  the  eye,  we  see  that  soldiers  have  not  always  so  hard  a 
life  as  the  common  opinion  is  ;  for  sometimes  as  they  have 
abundance,  so  they  have  a  variety  of  pleasure,  in  marching 
softly,  without  feare  or  danger,  through  fertill  soyles  and 
pleasant  countries,  their  marches  being  more  like  a  king's 
progress  than  to  wars  ;  being  in  a  fat  land  as  this  was, 
abounding  in  all  things  except  peace  :  they  had  plenty  of 
corn,  fruite,  wine,  gold,  silver,  jewels,  and  of  all  sort  of 
riches  that  could  be  thought  of,  on  this  river  of  the  Maine." 
Had  Frankfort  set  them  at  defiance — and  for  a  time  the 
issue  was  doubtful — he  might  have  had  still  better  reason 
for  gratulation.  But  Frankfort,  "  made  wise  by  the  mine 
of  other  cities,"  preferred  good  conditions  of  peace  to  the 
chances  of  storm  and  sack.  All  those  wealthy  free  cities 
held  troubled  consultations  when  the  royal  Swede  sent 
peremptory  summons  to  surrender.  Their  sympathies  were 
with  him,  with  freedom  and  with  Protestantism,  but  they 
consulted  under  terror  of  the  Tillys  and  Wallensteins. 

With  Frankfort  in  his  possession  and  his  communica- 
tions assured,  the  King  could  turn  his  attention  to  another 
of  his  inveterate  Episcopal  enemies.  The  strong  places  on 
the  lower  Rhine  were  in  the  Electorate  of  Mayence,  and 
thither  he  directed  his  march.  It  was  occupied  by  a  corps 
of  veteran  Spaniards,  under  Don  Phillipe  de  Sylvia,  who 
held  the  fortresses  on  the  river  in  force.    As  his  troops  were 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  87 

well  sheltered,  de  Sylvia  trusted  something  besides  to  the 
inclemency  of  a  bitter  winter.  Summoned  to  retire  or 
surrender,  his  answer  was  short  ;  his  orders  were  to  defend 
the  Prince  Bishop  against  the  Swedes.  As  he  fancied,  he 
had  seized  all  the  river  craft,  but  it  was  difficult  to  sweep 
all  shipping  off  the  long  course  of  the  Rhine.  Gustavus 
himself  had  made  a  detour  through  the  Bergstrasse,  with 
the  exiled  King  of  Bohemia,  the  banished  Elector  Palatine 
in  his  train,  and  meditated  a  crossing  above  Sylvia's 
most  formidable  advanced  post  at  Oppenheim.  A  few 
small  boats  were  picked  up  by  Count  Brahe,  who  was  in 
command  of  a  mixed  brigade  of  Scots  and  Swedes.  He 
made  a  miraculous  crossing  in  face  of  a  watchful  enemy, 
reminding  one  again  of  Wellington's  passage  of  the  Douro, 
and  entrenching  himself  promptly  in  similar  fashion,  re- 
pulsed with  heavy  loss  the  onsets  of  the  Spanish  cavalry. 
The  routed  horsemen  sought  refuge  at  Oppenheim,  an 
ancient  town  with  walls  and  fosses  and  a  massive  castle 
dominating  the  Rhine.  Strongly  garrisoned  and  scientifi- 
cally fortified,  Oppenheim  barred  the  march  to  Mayenne. 
The  hardest  nut  to  crack  was  a  sconce  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Rhine,  covered  by  the  castle  fire,  and  the  sconce  has 
become  historically  famous.  The  Scots,  as  Munro  remarks, 
went  to  the  front  as  usual,  when  there  was  any  desperate 
piece  of  service  to  be  done.  Grim  and  bloody  as  the  busi- 
ness was,  his  quaint  fashion  of  telling  the  story  puts  it  in 
a  humorous  point  of  view.  It  was  a  bitterly  severe  winter, 
"  but  we  lay  down  in  the  fields,  having  no  shelter  but 
some  bushes  on  the  bank  of  the  river."  The  bivouac  was 
raked  by  the  castle  batteries  ;  it  was  all  a  dead  level,  and 
there  was  no  protection  of  any  kind.     "  The  cannon  from 


88  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  castle  did  cleanse  and  scoure  the  fields  about  the 
sconce,  and  on  the  other  side  they  plagued  us  stiU  with 
cannon."  It  behoved  them  to  have  fires,  but  when  the 
fires  were  kindled,  the  cannonade  grew  hotter  and  the  aim 
more  sure.  Then  we  have  a  touch  of  Charles  O'Malley's 
Peninsular  compaigning.  "  One  night,  sitting  at  supper,  a 
bullet  of  32  lbs.  weight  shot  tight  out  between  Col. 
Hepburn's  shoulder  and  mine,  going  through  the  Colonel's 
couch  ;  the  next  shot  killed  a  sergeant  of  mine  by  the  fire, 
smoking  a  pipe  of  tobacco."  That  night  the  enemy  made 
an  outfall,  "  which  was  bravely  repulsed  by  push  of  pike, 
slightly  esteeming  of  the  musket  and  scorning  to  use  ours." 
When  the  King  opened  his  approaches  on  the  other  side 
of  the  castle,  the  sconce  surrendered,  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  garrison  of  the  castle  had  a  disagreeable  surprise. 
In  some  strange  fashion  a  "  privy  passage  "  had  been  left 
unguarded.  Two  hundred  of  Ramsay's  Scots  had  been 
guided  to  the  outworks,  which  they  carried  by  storm  and 
fought  their  way  into  the  heart  of  the  defences.  It  was  a 
long  and  desperate  struggle,  for  the  odds  were  great  against 
the  storming  party,  and  the  garrison  disputed  each  inch 
of  ground.  All  the  time  the  town  bells  were  tolling  at 
intervals,  and  the  roar  of  the  Swedish  batteries  dominated 
the  sounds  of  the  combat.  But  before  Gustavus  could 
hurry  forward  the  supports,  Ramsay  and  his  handful  of 
musketeers  were  masters  of  the  place.  Many  prisoners 
were  taken  in  the  sconce  and  the  castle.  Then  occurred 
one  of  the  common  incidents  of  the  war,  when  soldiers 
ransomed  themselves  lightly  by  changing  sides.  "  Their 
colours  being  taken  from  them,  they,  willing  to  take  service, 
were  all  disponed  by  his  Majesty  to  Sir  John  Hepburn, 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  89 

who  was  not  only  a  Colonel  to  them  but  a  kind  patron, 
putting  them  in  good  quarters  till  they  were  well  armed 
and  clad  again.  But  their  unthankfulness  was  such  that 
they  stayed  not,  but  disbandoned  all  in  Beyerland,  for 
having  once  got  the  warm  ayre  of  the  summer,  they  were 
all  gone  before  winter." 

Mayence  was  taken.  The  Spaniards  had  pillaged  the 
place  before  capitulating,  and  the  Swedes  laid  it  under 
heavy  contributions.  There  the  conqueror  celebrated 
Christmas  with  ten  or  a  dozen  of  the  Princes  of  the  Empire 
and  many  ambassadors  from  friendly  states.  Thence  de- 
tachments of  his  troops  overran  the  Rheingau  and  all  the 
modern  tourist  country  ;  the  vintages  of  Bingen,  Bacharach, 
and  Coblenz  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  \dctors,  and  Munro 
himself  was  quartered  at  Bingen  with  a  picket  in  Bishop 
Hatto's  historical  Mausethurm.  The  armies  of  Gustavus 
were  victorious  everywhere,  and  the  chronicler  complacently 
gives  a  long  list  of  "  the  many  worthy  cavaliers  of  our 
nation,"  who  were  not  only  trusted  before  others  with 
governments,  but  also  honoured  with  the  commanding  of 
strangers. 

There  was  a  single  exception.  Tilly,  after  giving  a 
check  to  Horn,  had  been  mustering  an  army  for  the  defence 
of  Bavaria.  The  King,  who  never  rested  himself  or  gave 
the  enemy  time  to  repose,  now  marched  for  the  Danube. 
Hepburn  of  the  Scots  Brigade  was  his  right-hand  man,  as 
the  irresistible  advance  rolled  southward  through  Fran- 
conia.  On  the  march  they  were  reinforced  by  strong 
bodies  of  cavalry  under  the  chivalrous  Bernhardt  of  Saxe- 
Weimar.  There  was  some  sharp  fighting  with  the  veteran 
de  Bouquoi,  who  was  routed  with  loss  and  severely  wounded. 


90  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

On  the  26th  of  March  they  sighted  the  Danube  at  Donau- 
worth,  the  key  to  Swabia,  and  with  the  fortified  mountain 
of  the  Schellenberg  a  position  deemed  almost  impregnable, 
which  was  to  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  campaigns  of 
Marlborough  and  Eugene.  It  was  gallantly  defended  by 
the  Duke  of  Saxe-Lauenburg,  but  was  taken,  sacked,  and 
spoiled.  So  says  Munro,  who  was  foremost  in  the  storm 
with  his  musketeers.  Many  of  the  garrison  were  slain, 
many  more  drowned  in  the  river,  and  the  rest  "  who  got 
their  lives  were  forced  to  take  service  in  the  regiments." 
But  the  Swedes  did  not  gain  much  by  those  involuntary 
recruits.  "  Being  papists  of  Bavaria,  as  soon  as  they  smelt 
the  smell  of  their  father's  houses,  in  less  than  ten  days 
they  were  all  gone." 

Then  the  Swedes  would  have  broken  into  Bavaria,  but 
old  Tilly  was  defending  the  passage  of  the  Lech.  With  a 
tremendous  artillery  fire  from  the  opposing  field  batteries, 
for  a  day  and  a  half  the  passage  was  disputed  ;  the 
Bavarians  blanched  as  the  raw  Saxons  had  done  at  Leipzic, 
but  Tilly's  veterans  manfully  stood  their  ground,  and 
possibly  the  issue  of  the  battle  might  have  been  different 
had  not  Tilly  "  been  shot  in  the  knee  with  a  cannon  bullet, 
a  cruel  blow  for  an  old  man  of  seventy-two."  The  old  hero 
was  carried  off  to  die  at  Ingolstadt,  and  then  the  chances 
of  the  Imperialists  were  gone.  The  death  he  would  have 
desired  spared  him  the  mortification  of  learning  that  he 
was  to  be  superseded  by  the  Duke  of  Friedland.  Munro, 
who  could  respect  a  valiant  enemy,  ranks  him  only  second 
to  the  immortal  Gustavus.  "  Wherein  we  have  a  notable 
example  of  an  old,  expert  general,  who  being  seventy-two 
years  of  age  was  ready  to  die  in  defence  of  his  religion  and 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  91 

country,  .  .  .  which  end  of  his  should  encourage  all  brave 
cavaliers  to  follow  his  example  both  in  life  and  in  death,  as 
with  valorous  soldiers.  .  .  .  And  my  wish  were  I  might 
prove  as  valiant  in  advancing  Christ's  kingdom  as  he  was 
in  hindering  it." 

Augsburg,    Ingolstadt,    and   all   the   fortified   Bavarian 
cities  fell  fast  one  after  another.     When  the  citizens  sur- 
rendered the  garrisons  got  quarter,  but  elsewhere  seldom 
during  that  merciless  war  was  the  warfare  more  ruthlessly 
waged.     The  peasants,  who  were  bigoted  CathoHcs  to  a 
man,  not  only  murdered  all  stragglers,  but  subjected  them 
to    nameless    tortures.     By    way    of    reprisals    defenceless 
Bavarians  were  shot  down  without  mercy,  and  their  un- 
walled  towns  and  villages  given  to  the  flames.     So  when 
the  army  approached  the  Bavarian  capital,  commissioners 
were  sent  out  with  the  keys,   "  offering  all  kind  of  sub- 
mission, for  to  spare  from  plundering  of  their  city."     His 
Majesty  encamped  his  army  outside  the  town,  but  trusted 
the  guard  of  the  gates  and  the  market-place  to  Hepburn 
and  the  Scots,  till  he  should  make  his  formal  entry  next 
day.     He   housed   himself   in   the    palace,   having   for   his 
guest    the    Elector    Palatine    whom    Maximilian    at    the 
beginning  of  the  war  had  hunted  out  of  the  Haradschin. 
The  Duke  before  his  flight  had  rather  innocently  buried 
his  cannon.     Inevitably,  they  were  discovered  and  dug  up. 
Munro   declares   there   were    140   of   them  :     twelve   great 
pieces    had    been    christened    the    twelve    apostles.       The 
Palatine   recognised  many  of  his  own  ;    others   had  been 
brought  from  Brunswick,  and  there  was  one  charged  with 
30,000  golden  ducats,  though  it  seems  strange  that  that 
portable  property  had  not  been  carried  off.     While  Munich 


92  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

was  in  occupation  of  the  troops  Hepburn,  in  appreciation 
of  his  services,  was  appointed  mihtary  governor,  with  strict 
orders  to  preserve  disciphne  and  prevent  looting.  But  the 
occupation  did  not  last  long,  for  news  from  the  north-east 
suddenly  recalled  the  Swedish  King  to  central  Germany. 

The  next  act  in  the  bloody  drama  is  the  famous  siege 
of  Nuremberg.  Munro  expresses  no  opinion  as  to  the 
strategy  of  his  idol,  though  that  was  the  turning-point  of 
the  hitherto  ever-victorious  advance.  Two  great  military 
geniuses  were  matched  against  each  other,  and  for  Gustavus 
it  was  something  worse  than  a  drawn  game.  Nuremberg 
had  hesitated  between  two  terrors,  but  had  been  driven  to 
a  decision.  As  a  Protestant  free  city,  all  its  sympathies 
were  with  the  foreigners.  It  "  made  up  twenty-four  strong 
companies  of  foot,"  who  carried  on  their  colours  as  many 
letters  of  the  alphabet.  The  King  having  "  recognosced  "  the 
city,  formed  an  encircling  leaguer  with  sconces,  redoubts, 
fosses,  and  barriers.  Wallenstein,  occupying  the  southern 
heights,  had  thrown  up  corresponding  works  over  against 
them.  Necessity  has  no  law,  and  the  foraging  Swedes  were 
almost  as  merciless  as  the  more  lawless  and  licentious 
Imperialists.  The  boors  began  to  be  unquiet  and  tumul- 
tuous. "  But  this  uproar  was  but  short,  for  when  the 
Swedens  drew  out  of  the  garrisons  they  kiUed  the  most 
part,  and  drove  the  rest  into  woods  to  seek  their  food 
with  the  swine,  in  burning  a  number  of  their  dorpes." 
Then  Munro  breaks  into  one  of  his  digressions  to  pay  a 
generous  tribute  to  Pappenheim,  who  was  causing  them 
infinite  anxiety.  "  The  Earle  of  Pappenheim,  a  worthy 
brave  fellow,  though  he  was  our  enemy,  his  valour  and 
resolution  I  deemed  so  much  of  that  it  does  me  good  to 


HEPBURN   AND    MUNRO  93 

call  his  vertuous  actions  somewhat  to  memory  and  the 
successes  he  had  in  warlike  employs.  .  .  .  This  noble 
cavalier  was  so  generous  that  nothing  seemed  difficult  to 
him,  fearing  nothing,  not  death  itself." 

It  is  needless  to  recapitulate  the  familiar  story  of  the 
fighting  before  the  beleaguered  city,  but  it  brought  Munro 
promotion  in  a  way  he  would  never  have  desired,  for  it 
was  to  sever  him  temporarily  from  a  valued  friend. 
Gustavus,  whose  temper  must  have  been  tried  by  the 
protracted  siege  and  the  impregnable  Imperial  positions, 
quarrelled  with  Hepburn,  and  apparently  for  no  particular 
reason.  Schiller  says  that  Hepburn  resented  the  King's 
having  preferred  a  subordinate  to  some  post  of  danger, 
which  would  have  been  really  a  tribute  to  the  value  of  the 
fire-proof  veteran.  More  plausibly  it  is  attributed  to  an 
insult  to  the  Brigadier's  religion,  for  Hepburn  was  a  devout 
Christian  and  a  Catholic.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  King 
used  language  which  could  not  be  brooked  by  the  high- 
spirited  Scot,  who  left  the  apartment  with  his  hand  on  his 
sword-hilt,  exclaiming,  "  I  will  never  unsheathe  it  again  in 
the  service  of  Sweden."  He  did  not  immediately  quit  the 
camp,  and  his  Royal  master  appealed  to  him  once  again, 
and  not  in  vain,  in  a  moment  of  emergency,  but  Munro, 
with  the  rank  of  colonel,  succeeded  in  command  of  the 
brigade. 

Shortly  afterwards  he  was  invalided.  At  the  storm  of 
the  Altenburg,  a  bullet  took  him  above  the  haunch-bone, 
and  he  was  only  saved  from  death  by  the  "  iron-clicker  " 
of  his  hanger.  The  King  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  him 
as  he  lay  in  hospital  at  Donauworth  ;  they  never  met 
again,  and  he  shared  neither  the  dangers  nor  honours  of 


94  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Lutzen.  There  is  real  pathos  and  deep  feeling  in  his  elegy 
over  the  loss  of  such  a  leader  as  he  could  never  hope  to 
follow  again.  "  This  magnanimous  King  for  his  valour 
might  well  have  been  called  the  magnifique  King  :  ...  he 
died  standing,  serving  the  public,  .  .  .  and  he  most  will- 
ingly gave  up  the  ghost,  being  all  his  life  a  King  that  feared 
God  and  walked  uprightly  in  his  calling,  and  as  he  lived 
Christianly,  so  he  died  most  happily  in  the  defence  of  the 
truth.  I  could  take  Heaven  and  Earth,  Sun  and  Moon, 
minerals,  &c.,  to  witness  that  his  colours  ever  flourished  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  that  his  confidence  was  not  set 
on  the  arm  of  man."  Reverting  to  the  subject,  he  sums 
up  the  pages  afterwards  by  praying  for  such  another  leader 
as  that  invincible  King.  He  can  hardly  have  expected  that 
the  prayer  would  be  answered,  and  after  the  idol  he  had 
worshipped  was  gone,  his  Memoirs  may  be  briefly  summed 
up.  Though  the  shattered  and  enfeebled  Scots  Brigade  was 
left  "  to  rest  "  in  Swabia,  it  was  ever  on  active  duty. 
Munro  went  to  Scotland  to  enlist  recruits,  and  recruits 
came  over  in  considerable  numbers.  But  the  regiments 
again  suffered  severely  at  the  disastrous  battle  of  Nord- 
lingen,  where  the  Swedes  were  routed  and  Home  taken 
prisoner.  Munro's  brigade  was  terribly  cut  up,  nor  did  it 
ever  recover  the  losses.  The  peace  of  Miinster  closed  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.  After  Nordhngen  the  Scottish  regi- 
ments had  been  under  the  command  of  Bernhardt  of  Saxe- 
Weimar,  and  when  the  agreement  was  signed  between 
Sweden  and  France,  his  troops  were  taken  into  the  pay  of 
France.  Hepburn  had  unsheathed  his  sword  in  the  service 
of  Louis,  and  Munro  was  again  under  his  old  comrade, 
Munro's  own  regiment  had  been  reduced  to  a  single  com- 


HEPBURN    AND    MUNRO  95 

pany,  and  the  remains  of  thirteen  gallant  Scotch  corps 
which  had  fought  under  Gustavus  in  many  a  stricken  field, 
were  incorporated  in  the  regiment  d'Hebron,  which  by 
orders  of  the  King  was  to  rank  before  all  others  in  the 
French  service.  Hebron,  it  may  be  explained,  was  the 
French  rendering  of  Hepburn. 

Munro's  "  Expedition  "  ends  somewhat  abruptly  with 
the  "  Observation,"  among  others,  that  the  disciphne  of  his 
regiment  stood  so  high  that  many  who  were  trained  in  it 
rose  "  from  soldiers  to  be  inferior  officers,  and  then  from 
their  preferments  and  advancements  "  were  promoted  to 
other  regiments.  Even  their  enemies,  he  adds,  could  not 
but.  duly  praise  them,  calling  them  the  invincible  old  regi- 
ment, and  the  Swedes  were  wont  to  strike  terror  into  their 
enemies  by  borrowing  their  battle-music  and  imitating  the 
Highland  cheer. 


IV 

COUNT    LESLIE    OF    BALQUHAIN 

Though  "  the  Lion  of  the  North  and  the  Bulwark  of  the 
Protestant  faith  had  a  way  of  winning  battles,  taking 
towns,  &c.,  which  made  his  service  irresistibly  delectable 
to  all  true-bred  cavaliers,"  the  discipline  was  severe,  the 
pay  small  and  precarious,  and  the  promotion  slow.  It  was 
not  often  that  an  inferior  officer  dropped  into  such  a  good 
thing  as  Rittmaster  Dalgetty  when  he  commanded  the 
whole  stiff  of  Dunklespiel.  The  Imperial  service  offered 
greater  attractions  to  cavaliers  of  fortune,  especially  when 
they  had  left  their  consciences  at  home.  There  was 
Wallenstein,  a  living  proof  of  what  military  talent  and 
soaring  ambition  might  attain  to,  and  Tilly  and  Pappenheim 
were  scarcely  less  famous.  Did  they  want  wealth,  as  they 
aU  did,  had  not  Wallenstein  within  a  few  years  of  making 
his  mark  bought  landed  estates  to  the  value  of  8,000,000 
florins.  Yet  he  had  long  been  maintaining  the  pomp  of 
a  Court  and  had  given  away  as  freely  as  he  gathered.  The 
secret  was  that  soldiers  of  aU  ranks  lived  on  contributions 
levied  on  the  country.  Gustavus,  with  only  the  scanty 
Swedish  treasury  to  draw  upon,  from  policy  was  bound  to 
conciliate  the  states  he  overran  and  to  respect  the  privi- 
leges and  purses  of  the  wealthy  free  cities.  The  Im- 
perialists and  the  soldiers  of  the  Catholic  League  cast  all 

96 


COUNT   LESLIE   OF   BALQUHAIN         97 

such  scruples  to  the  wind.  Like  Napoleon,  they  made  the 
war  support  itself,  but  then  it  was  Germans  who  preyed 
upon  Germans,  When  Wallenstein,  recalled  into  the  field, 
sent  his  summons  around  for  a  second  army,  as  when 
Bourbon  raised  his  standard  after  Pavia,  adventurers 
flocked  to  him  from  all  quarters.  As  Mitchell  remarks, 
they  knew  the  terrible  severity  of  his  punishments,  but 
they  also  knew  how  magnificent  were  his  rewards.  In  his 
own  camp  the  discipline  was  strict,  and  any  breach  of  it 
was  summarily  punished,  but  that  was  due  rather  to  pride 
than  principle.  Personally  he  set  the  worst  possible 
example.  Nothing  can  be  more  damning,  or  more  illus- 
trative of  the  misery  of  the  provinces  he  had  ravaged,  than 
the  charges  brought  against  him  by  the  Bavarian  Elector 
and  the  Electoral  College  of  Ratisbon,  They  were  sub- 
scribed alike  by  Catholic  and  Protestant.  They  told  how 
the  Duke  of  Friedland  in  Pomerania  had  exhausted  the 
revenues  of  the  Duchy  in  keeping  open  house  ;  they  told 
of  plundering  and  fire-raising;  of  men  beaten,  tortured, 
and  murdered  ;  of  women  violated  ;  and  they  wound  up  : 
"  Turks  and  heathens  have  never  behaved  as  the  Imperial 
troops   have    done,    nor   could    the    devils   have    behaved 


worse." 


Wallenstein  had  drained  Pomerania  to  keep  a  sumptuous 
table  when  the  Pomeranians  were  starving,  and  his  officers 
in  their  degree  imitated  or  surpassed  his  example  when 
charged  with  local  responsibihty  and  released  from  restraint. 
The  ordinary  adventurer  pillaged  and  squandered  from 
hand  to  mouth  ;  the  more  prudent  or  avaricious  turned 
the  screw  that  they  might  save  against  the  day  of  their 
discharge  ;   and  between   the   two   the   citizens  were   ruth- 

G 


98  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

lessly  fleeced  and  the  helpless  peasantry  burned  out  and 
beggared.  But  there  were  men  of  birth,  breeding,  and 
talent,  with  broader  views  and  definite  ambitions.  De- 
liberately careless  of  their  lives  and  free  of  their  money, 
they  took  Wallenstein  or  Pappenheim  for  their  models,  and 
hoped  to  rise  like  them.  Soldiers  first,  they  could  be 
courtiers  on  occasion,  and  at  Vienna  or  Munich  some  happy 
chance  might  give  them  rapid  promotion  and  the  pay  of  the 
colonel  of  a  regiment.  Once  well  on  the  ladder  they  were 
fairly  safe,  unless  tripped  up  by  some  court  intrigue  or  the 
caprice  of  a  court  beauty. 

The  soldier  of  fortune  when  he  had  seen  something  of 
the  wars  was  seldom  more  scrupulous  than  Rittmaster 
Dalgetty  over  his  war  cry.  When  he  left  his  native  islands 
he  was  generally  influenced  by  religion  or  home  politics, 
and  he  enlisted  on  the  side  whither  friends  had  gone  before 
him.  The  Catholic  Irish  had  no  hesitation  ;  to  a  man  they 
followed  the  standards  of  the  Church  and  the  Empire. 
The  Scottish  Presbyterians  from  the  far  North,  like  Munro, 
cast  in  their  lot  with  Swedish  Lutherans  and  German 
Calvinists,  and  at  least  so  long  as  Gustavus  hved  they 
seldom  changed  their  colours.  But  though  in  Aberdeen- 
shire there  were  Forbeses,  Erasers,  and  many  others  who 
were  staunch  to  the  blue  of  the  Covenant,  in  the  Gordon 
country  and  the  Garioch  the  most  of  the  gentry  were  High 
Church,  High  Tory — the  epithet  had  not  been  invented 
then — and  often  Catholic.  In  the  heart  of  the  Garioch, 
"  at  the  back  o'  Benachie,"  as  the  old  song  has  it,  stands 
one  of  the  square,  bartizaned  towers  scattered  broadcast 
over  Aberdeenshire,  memorials  of  the  days  when  every 
man's   hand   was    against   his    nearest    neighbours.     The 


COUNT   LESLIE   OF   BALQUHAIN         99 

Leslies  of  Balquhain,  who  claimed  to  be  heads  of  the  name, 
had  always  been  a  fighting  family.  Poor  as  they  were 
proud,  it  was  only  natural  that  a  younger  son,  with  Httle 
but  his  sword  for  an  inheritance,  should  seek  honour  and 
fortune  abroad.  The  Leshes  were  bred  in  prelatic  sur- 
roundings, and  it  is  singular  that  Walter,  associated  with 
a  Gordon  in  the  death  of  Wallenstein,  should,  like  Gordon, 
have  been  bred  a  Calvinist.  Judging  by  the  subsequent 
careers  of  both,  it  is  probable  that  rehgious  tenets  sat 
hghtly  upon  them.  None  could  have  foreseen  that  the 
penniless  youth  who  left  the  Garioch  to  trail  a  halberd  in 
the  ranks  would  have  played  the  leading  part  in  the  death 
of  the  great  captain,  gone  with  the  collar  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  as  imperial  ambassador  to  the  Sultan,  married  the 
well-dowered  daughter  of  a  princely  house,  and  died  a 
Count  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  Of  all  the  foreign 
soldiers  he  had  the  most  exceptional  luck. 

He  left  no  autobiography,  and  the  records  of  his  rapid 
rise  are  fragmentary.  Here  and  there  some  deed  of  daring 
or  decision,  some  subtle  piece  of  courtiership  or  sagacious 
stroke  of  pohcy,  stands  out  conspicuous  in  the  history  of 
the  war.  He  served  in  Flanders,  where  he  saw  hard  fight- 
ing. He  won  his  way  to  carrying  a  fahne  or  ensign's 
colours  in  Italy  in  the  war  of  the  Mantuan  succession.  He 
distinguished  himself  with  the  Imperialists  in  Germany,  and 
in  1632,  when  only  twenty-six,  was  already  major  of 
musketeers.  The  regiment  was  chiefly  Scottish  with  a 
sprinkling  of  Irish,  and  was  commanded  by  the  Colonel 
Gordon  who  played  second  to  his  subordinate  in  the 
Wallenstein  tragedy.  Both  were  special  favourites  of 
Wallenstein,  who  for  his  own  sake  knew  how  to  appreciate 


loo  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

and  advance  merit.     Both  had  been  always  to  the  front 
in  the  campaign  which  drove  the  Saxons  back  over  the 
Riesengebirge.       Both    were    in    the    great    camp    where 
Wallenstein  had  gathered  all  his  strength  for  the  capture 
of  the  free  city  of  Nuremberg.       Swedes  and  Imperialists 
were  alike  on  short  commons  ;    their  foragers  swept  all  the 
adjacent    country.      Wallenstein    had    cut   off    a    convoy 
escorting   200    waggons    from   Wiirtzburg.      Things   were 
getting  desperate  with  the  citizens  and  the  Swedes,  when 
Gustavus    ordered    an    attack    in    force    on    an    imperial 
magazine,  and  detached  a  covering  force  of  1000  musketeers 
and  800  horse  to  Bergtheim.     James  Grant,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Hepburn,"  gives  a  spirited  account  of  the  affair.    There  was 
a  sanguinary  engagement  between  the  covering  force  and 
the  Imperialists  under  Sparre.     The  Imperialists  were  in 
superior  strength,  but  the  Swedish  attack  was  irresistible. 
The    action   was    fought    out    among    rocks     and    ruins. 
"  The  imperial  regiments  were  swept  away  in  succession, 
and   the   musketeers   of    Gordon   and   Leslie   alone   stood 
firm,  maintaining  their  posts  behind  every  tree,  rock,  and 
wall  with  the  most  steady  gallantry.     Gustavus "  frequently 
applauded  their  valour,   and  declared  that  if  these  were 
Scots  and  fell  into  his  hands  as  prisoners,  he  would  release 
them   unransomed."     They   yielded   to   numbers,    and   he 
kept  his  word,  though  his  Scottish  officers  were  slow  to 
carry  out  his  orders.     For  five  weeks  they  feted  and  feasted 
their  countrymen,  and  at  last  gave  them  reluctant  license 
to  depart,  when  Gustavus  made  his  final  cast  for  victory. 

When  the  Lion  of  the  North  had  fallen  at  Liitzen, 
Leslie  was  in  quarters  at  Egra  on  the  western  frontier  of 
Bohemia.     It  had  been  better  for  his  fame  had  he  been 


COUNT   LESLIE    OF    BALQUHAIN       loi 

elsewhere,  but  assuredly  the  supreme  episode  of  the  war 
found  him  at  the  crisis  of  his  fortunes.  The  problem  of 
Wallenstein's  guilt  or  innocence  is  as  little  likely  to  be  ever 
certainly  solved  as  that  of  the  identity  of  the  man  of  the 
iron  mask.  There  was  no  room  then  for  two  emperors. 
The  situation  was  becoming  impossible.  Wallenstein, 
emphatically  the  soldier  of  fortune,  had  served  himself  in 
serving  his  master.  He  had  raised  himself  a  host  of  jealous 
enemies,  headed  and  inspired  by  Maximilian  of  Bavaria. 
The  immense  rewards,  at  first  bestowed  by  gratitude,  had 
latterly  been  extorted  by  force  or  fear.  He  had  dictated 
his  own  conditions  when  he  had  come  to  the  imperial  rescue 
the  second  time,  and  his  overweening  pretensions  had  never 
been  forgiven.  His  sagacity  warned  him  that  he  was 
doomed,  and  there  is  little  doubt  he  had  sought  to  make 
himself  friends  in  the  hostile  camps,  and  had  been  intriguing 
with  Swedes  and  Saxons,  who  naturally  mistrusted  his 
advances.  There  is  written  evidence  of  flattering  offers 
from  France  ;  Richelieu  corresponded  with  him,  and  Louis 
had  written  a  letter  under  his  own  hand.  Soldier  of 
fortune  in  excelsis,  when  he  had  stripped  the  Dukes  of 
Friedland  of  their  hereditary  dukedom  he  would  scarcely 
have  hesitated  to  rob  his  ungrateful  master  of  Bohemia. 
He  had  become  a  danger  and  a  terror,  yet  it  was  not 
possible  to  arrest  him  at  the  head  of  an  army  he  had  raised, 
who  looked  to  him  for  pay  in  arrear,  and  who  had  rallied 
to  him  in  solemn  assurance  of  pillage.  As  he  could  not  be 
sent  to  the  block,  and  as  no  cage  would  hold  such  a  bird, 
the  only  alternative  was  to  remove  him  by  violence. 

As  times  were,  policy  might  have  justified  the  deed,  and 
the  Church  would  have  readily  absolved  the  Kaiser ;  but 


I02  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Leslie,  whom  he  had  loved,  enriched,  and  advanced,  was 
not  the  man  to  deal  with  his  confiding  benefactor.  Accord- 
ing to  Schiller,  "  it  was  to  Leslie  Wallenstein  confided  his 
griefs  and  embarrassments  when  he  had  decided  to  cross 
the  Rubicon  and  fly  from  the  imperial  dominions."  Had 
Leslie  acted  simply  as  a  soldier,  obeying  the  orders  of  the 
Emperor  as  supreme  in  command,  he  might  have  saved 
something  of  his  reputation  by  waiting  patiently  for  his 
reward.  In  that  case  he  would  probably  have  gone  without 
it,  and  like  Wallenstein  he  was  the  soldier-adventurer  who 
snatched  at  every  chance.  At  Egra,  Gordon,  his  colonel, 
seems  to  have  hesitated  when  Butler  disclosed  the  murder- 
ous and  treacherous  plan.  Leslie  had  made  up  his  mind  at 
once,  and  if  he  was  not  one  of  the  actual  assassins  of  his 
great  patron,  he  scoured  the  streets  with  a  covering  party 
while  the  crime  was  being  perpetrated.  Then,  even  antici- 
pating his  Irish  accomplice,  Butler,  he  rode  post-haste  to 
the  Burg  in  Vienna,  carrying  the  welcome  news.  For  never 
was  messenger  more  welcome.  The  delighted  Kaiser 
showered  immediate  rewards  upon  him,  and  took  sundry 
public  occasions  of  showing  him  honour.  He  was  made 
Imperial  Chamberlain,  Colonel  of  two  regiments,  Captain 
of  the  Bodyguard  ;  he  was  created  at  once  a  Count  of  the 
Empire,  and  enriched  with  estates  in  Bohemia  valued  at 
200,000  or  300,000  florins. 

In  lavishly  rewarding  that  timely  piece  of  service,  the 
Emperor  had  found  a  faithful  and  valuable  servant.  The 
honours  so  suddenly  heaped  upon  Leslie  were  only  the 
foretaste  of  others  to  follow,  and  these  he  well  deserved. 
Thenceforth  he  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  of 
the  time,  and  so  far  as  we  know,  his  honour  thenceforth 


COUNT   LESLIE   OF   BALQUHAIN       103 

was  unblemished.     Courage  he  had  in  excess,  but  he  was 
no  ordinary  soldier.     He  had  brains  and  courteous  manners 
as  well   as   reckless   daring,   and   distinguished  himself  in 
diplomacy  and  civil  affairs  as  in  sieges,  storms,  and  cam- 
paigns.    At  the  bloody  battle  of  Nordlingen,  having  escaped 
death  by  a  miracle,  he  was  recompensed  by  the  Cardinal 
Infant  of  Spain  with  a  generous  largesse  in  money,  as  was 
the  fashion  of  the  time,  and  with  the  lucrative  ownership 
of   two    other   regiments.     He    raised   his    reputation    and 
increased  his  riches  in  the  campaigns  in  Alsace,  Saxony, 
and  Bohemia.     Then  that  versatile  genius  turned  diplomat, 
financier,  and  money  agent.     In  1645  he  was  successfully 
negotiating  loans   for   the   needy   Emperor   in   Rome   and 
Naples,  and  then  returning  to  military  avocations  he  rose 
through  a  plurality  of  posts,  as  Master  of  the  Ordnance,  Vice- 
President  of  the  War-Council,  and  Warden  of  the  Sclavonic 
Marches.     He  had  the  rank  of  Field-Marshal  besides,  and 
was  a  leading  member  of  the  Privy  Council. 

In  1665  the  fortunate  Scottish  cadet  was  a  Knight 
of  the  princely  Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  and  charged 
with  an  embassy  to  the  Court  of  Constantinople  for 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  The  embassy 
was  sent  out  with  all  the  state  and  splendour  fitted  to 
impress  the  Oriental  imagination.  The  Field-Marshal  was 
attended  by  a  magnificent  suite,  and  accompanied  by 
Howard,  his  intimate  friend,  heir  presumptive  to  the 
premier  dukedom  of  England.  He  was  escorted  down  the 
Danube  to  the  Turkish  fortress  of  Belgrade  by  a  flotilla  of 
superbly  decorated  barges,  and  thence  the  rugged  passes  of 
the  Balkans  were  crossed  to  Stamboul  in  an  endless  pro- 
cession of  torches.     The  journey,  with  all  its  adventitious 


I04  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

luxury,  must  have  reminded  him  of  some  of  his  roughest 
campaigning,  but  legions  of  peasants  and  serfs  were  sum- 
moned to  cut  or  clear  a  road  over  the  hills  and  through  the 
forests.  The  reception  on  the  Bosphorus  of  the  cadet  of 
Balquhain  was  befitting  the  scale  of  the  embassage  and  the 
value  of  the  presents  he  brought.  The  Sultan  paid  the 
highest  honours  to  the  imperial  envoy,  nor  when  he  left  was 
he  sent  away  empty-handed.  Unfortunately  he  brought 
back  with  him  as  well  the  seeds  of  a  mortal  illness,  and  next 
year  (1666)  he  closed  his  career  in  the  Kaiserstadt,  Bred  a 
Calvinist,  he  had  seen  the  error  of  his  ways,  for  he  recanted 
after  the  assassination  of  WaUenstein,  and  he  died  a  good 
Cathohc  on  the  3rd  November  1667.  He  was  interred  with 
great  pomp  and  all  military  honours  in  the  Abbey  of  the 
Scottish  Benedictines. 


PRINCE    EUGENE 

Eugene  of  Savoy  may  be  fairly  styled  a  soldier  of  fortune, 
for  though  ever  constant  to  the  colours  under  which  he 
entered  on  his  military  career,  like  an  illustrious  con- 
temporary, the  Duke  of  Berwick,  he  abandoned  the  land 
of  his  birth  to  win  fame  and  fortune  by  the  sword.  The 
story  of  his  career  would  fill  volumes  ;  there  is  matter  in  it, 
not  only  for  the  student  of  the  art  of  war,  but  for  the 
romancist  delighting  in  sensation  and  adventure.  Yet  the 
most  meagre  sketch  shows  a  typical  leader  of  the  times, 
throwing  side-lights  on  the  changes  in  camps,  courts,  and 
campaigning  since  the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  had 
given  temporary  peace  to  Europe.  Eugene  was  a  link 
between  the  past  and  the  present ;  he  was  the  preux 
chevalier,  the  Edler  Ritter,  of  the  imperial  camp  songs  which 
found  responsive  echo  from  the  hostile  lines.  A  mediaeval 
knight  and  modern  general  born  with  the  genius  of  war, 
in  qualities  he  was  the  complement  of  his  colleague  Marl- 
borough in  the  decisive  battles  of  his  time. 

A  scion  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  his  grandfather  had  been 
more  a  soldier  of  fortune  than  himself.  Thomas  Francis, 
youngest  son  of  the  then  Duke  of  Savoy,  "  of  restless 
temperament  and  great  political  and  mihtary  ability," 
constant  to  no  cause  and  only  consulting  his  own  interests, 

los 


io6  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

had  finally  settled  in  France.  The  founder  of  the  branch 
of  Carignan  had  married  a  Bourbon,  heiress  of  the  last 
Count  of  Soissons.  His  younger  son,  Eugene  Maurice,  took 
his  uncle's  title  of  Count  of  Soissons,  was  naturalised  as  a 
Frenchman,  and  had  the  honours  of  a  prince  of  the  blood. 
The  easy-going  Prince,  a  courtier  and  complaisant  husband, 
married  one  of  the  most  turbulent  and  ambitious  women 
of  a  time  when  feminine  Court  intrigue  was  swaying  Court 
policy.  The  love  affairs  of  the  beautiful  Olympia  Mancini, 
the  niece  of  Cardinal  Mazarin,  and  of  the  young  and  hot- 
blooded  King,  are  matters  of  history  and  of  romance  as  well ; 
Dumas,  in  the  prelude  to  the  "  Vicomte  de  Bragelonne," 
has  described  the  love-making  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire. 
Olympia  missed  the  crown  she  had  set  her  heart  upon,  and 
never  altogether  forgave  her  royal  adorer,  though,  with 
alternate  interludes  of  war  and  peace,  there  were  intervals 
in  which  she  ruled  his  Court  and  led  the  fashions.  There 
was  a  final  fall  from  favour  on  the  rise  of  Louise  de  la 
Valliere,  and  on  that  occasion,  by  forging  a  letter  from 
Spain,  the  Countess  gave  offence  which  was  never  forgiven. 
She  and  her  husband  were  banished  to  their  estates,  a 
command  equivalent  to  social  extinction.  The  death  of 
her  husband  drove  her  to  despair.  Not  that  she  greatly 
regretted  him,  but  she  lost  the  revenues  of  his  government 
of  Champagne,  found  her  means  inconveniently  straitened, 
and  saw  the  prospects  of  her  children  gravely  compromised. 
She  gave  herself  license  to  return  to  Paris,  but  although 
it  was  tolerated  her  presence  was  ignored.  In  desperation 
she  took  to  consulting  soothsayers  and  the  wizards  who 
peeped  and  who  muttered.  She  went  farther,  and  un- 
doubtedly entered  into  relations  with  those  notorious  women, 


PRINCE   EUGENE  107 

Voisin  and  the  traders  in  crime.  She  may  have  sought 
only  philtres  and  charms,  but  it  was  said  she  became  an 
expert  in  deadly  poisons,  and  among  other  crimes  laid  to 
her  charge  was  the  subsequent  poisoning  of  the  French 
Queen  of  Spain  at  the  instigation  of  the  Imperial  Am- 
bassador. The  question  of  her  guilt  or  innocence  is  a 
mystery  that  can  never  be  cleared  up  ;  most  reliable  writers 
are  inclined  to  acquit  her  ;  the  author  of  the  preface  to 
Eugene's  own  brief  memoirs  condemns  her  without  hesi- 
tation or  reserve.  It  is  certain  she  fled  from  France  to 
Flanders  to  escape  a  process  instituted  against  her  and  a 
lettre  de  cachet  for  the  Bastille.  So  there  are  different 
versions  of  the  story  of  her  retreat  to  Brussels  and  her 
residence  there.  One  avers  that  she  kept  open  salon  for 
all  that  was  most  select  in  the  society  of  Flanders  ;  another 
that,  reduced  to  greater  straits  than  ever,  she  was  grateful 
to  her  kinsman,  the  Due  de  Mazarin,  for  an  occasional  dole 
of  a  few  score  of  louis. 

Be  the  truth  as  it  may,  she  bequeathed  to  her  sons  a 
tarnished  name  and  the  royal  dislike  to  the  family.  They 
were  left  behind  in  Paris  on  her  precipitate  flight,  and 
Louis  seems  to  have  regarded  them  with  mingled  feelings. 
As  acknowledged  princes  of  the  blood,  they  had  a  claim 
to  a  certain  recognition,  nevertheless  he  was  inchned  to 
cross  and  spite  them.  Eugene,  the  third  and  the  youngest, 
was  imperiously  destined  to  the  Church.  The  young  abbe, 
as  he  was  somewhat  sarcastically  styled  by  the  great  King, 
was  gratified  in  boyhood  with  clerical  endowments,  and 
might  have  counted  on  a  plurahty  of  lucrative  benefices 
\vith  archiepiscopal  mitres  and  a  cardinal's  hat  in  reversion. 
But  if  ever  a  boy  had  a  vocation,  it  was  the  young  Eugene, 


io8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  his  tastes  did  not  incline  to  the  soutane  or  the  breviary. 
He  was  born  a  soldier  and  a  soldier  he  meant  to  be.  As 
his  predilections  were  all  for  the  profession  of  arms,  he 
seems  to  have  taken  his  own  education  in  charge.  He 
was  always  studying  military  treatises  or  immersed  in  the 
biographies  of  the  heroes  he  admired.  To  mathematics  and 
engineering  science  he  paid  special  attention,  and  it  was 
an  age  when  the  engineer  was  in  the  ascendant  and  the 
fortress  the  pivot  of  the  campaign.  Nor  did  he  neglect 
to  exercise  his  slight  but  active  person  in  all  sorts  of 
athletic  exercises.  The  time  came  when  he  passed  out  of 
the  tutelage  of  tutors  and  governors.  He  took  his  courage 
in  his  hands  and  sought  an  audience  of  the  royal  autocrat. 
Thanking  him  for  all  the  favours  bestowed  or  intended,  he 
begged  instead  for  a  place  in  the  army  befitting  his  rank. 
The  request  was  peremptorily  refused  in  scornful  terms ; 
and  Louis,  generally  so  sagacious  in  selecting  capable 
officers,  seldom  made  a  more  fatal  mistake.  Eugene  in 
the  Memoirs,  which  only  begin  with  his  arrival  at  Vienna, 
says  nothing  of  the  matter.  In  reality  his  fiery  tempera- 
ment boiled  over ;  he  remembered  the  griefs  of  his  mother 
and  the  slights  inflicted  on  his  family,  and  his  decision 
was  made  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  The  man  who 
might  have  done  more  than  any  other  to  forward  the 
French  monarch's  far-reaching  schemes  became  one  of  the 
most  unflinching  enemies  of  France  and  the  most  for- 
midable champions  of  European  liberties. 

Eugene  was  then  a  youth  of  nineteen.  He  was  some- 
what below  the  middle  height,  with  the  olive  Italian  com- 
plexion, refined  features,  a  somewhat  retrousse  nose,  and  a 
short  upper  lip  which,  displaying  his  teeth,  was  apt  to  give 


PRINCE   EUGENE  109 

an  unfavourable  impression  at  first  sight ;  but  all  was  re- 
deemed by  the  bright  flashing  eyes  which  softened  easily 
into  genial  smiles  or  blazed  when  lit  up  with  the  fire  of 
battle.     Once  decided  to  turn  his  back  on  the  land  of  his 
birth,  he  had  Httle  hesitation  as  to  where  to  seek  a  career. 
The  ambition  of  Louis  had  troubled  the  peace  of  nations, 
and  Europe  was  ranging  itself  in  hostile   camps,  headed 
respectively  by   the   Bourbons   and   the   Hapsburgs.      An 
elder   brother  of  Eugene   had  gone   already  to   place   his 
sword  at  the  disposal  of  the  Emperor  :    he  had  been  well 
received,  and    immediately    presented    with    a    regiment. 
Eugene  resolved  to  follow  the  example.     The  Chevalier  de 
Soissons  had  had  a  gracious  reception,  but  the  welcome  of 
Eugene  was  even  more  cordial,  for  Leopold  from  the  first 
took  a  strong  Hking  to  him.     Political  considerations,  be- 
sides, were  strong  recommendations.     Eugene  was  a  near 
kinsman  of  the  house  of  Savoy,  and  in  the  wars  between 
France  and  the  Empire  the  Dukes  played  a  conspicuous 
part,  and  not  infrequently  swayed  the  balance.      Seated 
upon  the  crests  of  the  Western  Alps,  they  locked  the  passes 
which  led  from  France  into  Italy.     In  subsequent  campaigns 
that  cousinship   of  Eugene   was  eminently  serviceable   to 
the  Empire,  though  it  landed  himself  in  embarrassments 
which  went  far  to  compromise  his  operations.     The  reign- 
ing Duke  was  a  gallant  soldier  who  never  shirked  fighting, 
and  who  might  have  been  as  honourable  as  he  was  brave 
in  less  difficult  circumstances.     As  it  was,  under  pressure 
from  Versailles   he  passed   from   double-dealing   to  actual 
treachery,  and  had  it  not  been  for  very  shame,  would  have 
taken  a  more  active  part  against  the  kinsman  he  betrayed 
when  he  had  come  to  his  help  in  the  Duke's  extremity. 


no  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Eugene's  noble  birth  helped  him  at  least  as  much  as 
his  genius  and  his  courage.  Times  had  changed  since  the 
Thirty  Years'  War,  when  a  simple  Bohemian  gentleman 
overshadowed  the  Emperor,  defying  the  open  enmity  of  the 
Elector  of  Bavaria,  and  when  a  soldier  of  fortune  from  the 
Low  Countries  became  the  leader  of  the  Catholic  League. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  blood  and 
birth  counted  for  everything.  The  contingents  who  swelled 
the  motley  armies  of  the  allies  were  commanded  by  their 
own  princes,  who  stood  punctiliously  upon  precedence  and 
the  prerogatives  of  their  rank.  For  the  most  part  they 
had  courage  enough,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  Bavarian 
Elector,  and  perhaps  Louis  of  Baden,  seldom  boasted  any 
higher  qualities.  When  Marlborough  marched  from  the 
Moselle  to  the  Danube  his  fame  as  a  general  was  already 
unrivalled  among  his  colleagues,  and  he  represented  besides 
the  combined  strength  of  England  and  Holland.  Yet  had 
it  not  been  for  his  tact,  suavity,  and  diplomacy,  Blenheim 
might  never  have  been  fought,  and  that  decisive  campaign 
might  have  ended  in  disaster.  Louis  of  Baden,  who  was 
satirised  in  a  Flemish  caricature  as  nodding  over  money 
bags — he  was  suspected  of  venality,  and  charged  more 
certainly  with  supineness — claimed  the  command  in  virtue 
of  his  rank.  Marlborough  kept  his  temper,  temporised 
suavely,  and  conceded  the  command  upon  alternate  days. 
Yet,  as  it  was,  the  concession  made  as  a  sacrifice  to 
punctilio  precipitated  the  sanguinary  storm  of  the  Schellen- 
burg,  and  the  key  of  the  hostile  position  was  won  at  the 
critical  moment,  but  at  a  useless  cost. 

Eugene  was  to  have  a  more  varied  experience  of  war 
than  any  general  of  his  time.     Napoleon  scarcely  made 


PRINCE   EUGENE  in 

himself  more  familiar  by  personal  survey  with  the  strategical 
topography  of  Europe.  For  the  Empire  extended  from  the 
North  Sea  to  the  Lower  Danube,  from  the  Hanse  towns 
and  the  Elbe  to  the  Mincio  and  the  Milanese,  and  the 
imperial  pretensions  embraced  Spain  and  the  Sicilies.  As 
subaltern,  chief  of  division,  and  general  in  command, 
Eugene  had  been  everywhere  where  fighting  was  going 
forward,  and  had  seen  two  very  different  sorts  of  service. 
In  the  West  the  wars  were  waged  by  rules — by  rules  which 
he  seldom  dared  to  violate.  They  were  the  well-considered 
moves  on  a  chessboard,  where  mistake  might  be  fatal,  and 
where  he  was  pitted  against  the  veteran  generals  of  France. 
In  the  East  he  was  confronting  the  Turkish  hordes,  where 
the  staunch  and  disciplined  battalions  of  the  Janissaries 
were  supported  by  a  rabble  of  wild  horsemen,  and  there, 
as  at  Zenta  and  at  Belgrade,  he  won  decisive  battles  by 
venturing  on  liberties  professionally  unwarrantable  as 
matters  of  cool  calculation.  In  the  West  it  was  a  war  of 
sieges,  with  incessant  marching  and  countermarching.  The 
French  and  Flemish  frontiers  bristled  with  fortresses  ;  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine  were  scarcely  less  strongly  defended. 
Louis,  on  the  one  side,  had  the  invaluable  assistance  of 
Vauban  and  Maigrigna,  and  they  were  rivalled  by  Cohom, 
whose  talent  was  at  the  service  of  the  allies.  Such  sieges 
as  those  of  Namur,  Tournai,  and  Mons  were  protracted  by 
every  sort  of  work  and  counterwork  that  engineering  skill 
could  devise  ;  military  science  even  then  was  replete  with 
deadly  surprises.  Places  of  comparative  insignificance, 
whose  names  are  now  almost  forgotten,  became  points  of 
vital  importance  in  the  plans  of  operations.  When  the 
town    had    been    taken,    after    slow    though    sanguinary 


112  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

approaches,  the  garrison  would  withdraw  to  the  citadel, 
where  the  whole  bloody  business  was  to  recommence,  on 
conditions  often  arranged — as  at  Namur — to  spare  the 
townspeople  and  their  dwellings.  So,  while  operations  in- 
definitely dragged,  there  was  ample  time  to  arrange  for 
possible  relief.  Covering  armies  slowly  manoeuvred  on  a 
system  of  outlying  defence.  The  spade  and  the  pickaxe 
were  as  much  in  request  as  the  cannon  and  the  musket. 
Wherever  an  army  bivouacked  for  more  than  a  day,  if  an 
enemy  were  anywhere  in  the  neighbourhood,  trenches  were 
dug  and  parapets  thrown  up.  Longer  delay  meant  the 
construction  of  formidable  field  works.  What  shows  the 
power  or  the  weakness  of  the  field  artillery  of  the  day  is 
the  fact  that  "  cannon-proof "  defences  were  often  con- 
structed in  a  single  night. 

When  the  summer  campaign  was  indefinitely  prolonged, 
and  armies  lay  in  leaguer  before  fortresses  deemed  im- 
pregnable, threatened  by  others  entrenched  behind  lines  of 
circumvallation,  the  commissariat  question  was  of  urgent 
importance.  The  system  was  that  war  must  support  itself, 
and  the  countries  were  laid  under  ruthless  contribution. 
Yet  necessity  suggested  some  sort  of  method.  Frequently, 
before  the  winter  camps  were  broken  up,  contracts  were 
made  with  the  local  authorities,  and  the  supplies,  when 
practicable,  were  stored  in  magazines.  When  the  magazines 
gave  out,  the  troops  had  recourse  to  pillage,  and  often  when 
the  crops  had  failed  they  were  reduced  to  dire  extremities. 
Epidemics  followed  on  famine  or  scarcity ;  then  the 
starving  soldiers  would  break  out  in  open  mutiny,  and 
never  could  it  be  said  with  greater  truth  that  an  army 
marches  on  its  belly.     The  fate  of  the  unfortunate  prisoners 


PRINCE   EUGENE  113 

of  war  was  deplorable.  In  such  circumstances  the  per- 
sonality of  the  leader  counted  for  much.  Eugene,  like 
Marshal  Villars,  won  the  hearts  of  his  soldiers  not  only  by 
the  dauntless  courage  which  may  have  been  almost  a  fault, 
but  by  his  kindly  attention  to  their  comforts.  What  pre- 
science could  do  to  provide  for  their  wants,  that  he  did, 
though  at  the  best  it  was  no  easy  matter  when  the  portable 
biscuit  had  not  been  invented,  and  when  the  army  had  to 
live  by  bread  and  the  bakeries. 

If  he  was  beloved  and  trusted  by  the  rank  and  file,  he 
won  the  confidence  of  the  intelligent  officers  who  were  to 
carry  out  his  instructions.  He  had  the  eye  and  the  instinct 
of  the  born  strategist,  could  discern  at  a  glance  the  capa- 
bilities of  a  battle  ground,  and  he  knew  as  much  of  fortifica- 
tion as  the  most  capable  of  his  engineers.  He  proved  his 
science  over  and  over  again  at  the  siege  of  Belgrade,  when, 
at  once  beleaguering  and  beleaguered,  his  position  had 
become  well-nigh  desperate.  In  such  extremities  he  never 
trusted  to  others,  but  did  the  scouting  and  surveying  for 
himself,  and  in  such  exceptional  circumstances  his  careless- 
ness of  life  may  have  been  justified,  though  he  often  escaped 
death  by  a  miracle.  Louis  took  the  field  in  state,  with  aU 
the  pomp  and  ceremonial  of  Versailles  ;  but  though  he 
may  be  credited  with  the  courage  of  his  race,  he  seldom 
risked  his  sacred  person.  It  may  have  been  a  venial  weak- 
ness, but  Eugene  loved  the  pomp  of  war  as  much  as  the 
great  King,  and  there  was  no  lack  of  eager  eleves  to  follow 
when  he  rode  out  on  one  of  his  reconnoitring  expeditions, 
taking  shallow  trenches  in  the  stride  of  his  horse  and 
running  the  gauntlet  of  the  hostile  batteries.  At  the  siege 
of  Belgrade,  when  he  put  his  foot  in  the  stirrup,  crown 


H 


114  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

priiices  and  nobles  and  high-born  volunteers  were  emulously 
crowding  in  his  train,  though  wounds  were  common  enough 
and  saddles  were  often  emptied.  In  the  hottest  fire  he  had 
a  happy  turn  for  paying  graceful  or  inspiriting  compli- 
ments ;  nor  did  he  ever  miss  the  opportunity  of  praising 
the  gallantry  of  a  subaltern  in  presence  of  the  chief  on 
whom  he  depended  for  promotion.  He  was  blessed  besides 
with  the  memory  for  faces  which  served  Napoleon  so  well, 
when  the  friendly  recognition  of  an  old  comrade  gratified 
the  veteran  more  than  the  cross  of  the  Legion,  with  pension 
to  correspond. 

Eugene  was  welcomed  to  Vienna  in  an  anxious  hour. 
The  Magyars  had  risen  in  open  revolt,  and  had  summoned 
the  Moslems  to  their  aid.  For  the  last  time  the  Kaiser- 
stadt,  the  eastern  bulwark  of  Christendom,  was  threatened 
by  the  Ottoman  advance.  Kara  Mustapha,  the  famous 
Vizier,  at  the  head  of  200,000  men,  was  approaching  the 
gates.  Eugene,  with  his  commission  as  colonel  of  cavalry, 
left  the  Court  to  join  the  army  of  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine.  Lorraine,  finding  his  communications  threat- 
ened by  the  Turks,  had  broken  up  his  camp  on  the  Raab, 
sending  his  infantry  back  to  the  capital,  while  with 
his  cavalry  he  withdrew  to  a  position  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  opposite  Presburg.  From  thence  he  was  com- 
pelled to  a  farther  retreat.  With  the  rearguard  was  the 
regiment  of  the  Savoy  dragoons,  commanded  by  Eugene's 
brother.  Within  a  few  miles  of  Vienna,  Eugene  was  for 
the  first  time  under  fire,  when  the  Turkish  vanguard  made 
a  desperate  onset  before  the  prey  it  was  pursuing  escaped. 
The  attack  was  repelled  after  some  fierce  fighting,  but 
Eugene  had  to  lament  the  loss  of  his  brother.     The  Turks, 


PRINCE   EUGENE  115 

closing  in  upon  the  city,  forced  Lorraine  from  position  to 
position.     Avoiding  a  battle,  Lorraine  manoeuvred  on  their 
flanks  or  rear,  challenging  them  to  sundry  sharp  engage- 
ments.    At  length,  in  the   early   autumn,  he    could   draw 
breath,    when   he    formed   a   junction   with   the    forces   of 
Sobieski.     Moreover,  supports  were  coming   up  from  Ger- 
many.    When  the  combined  forces  mustered  over  80,000 
strong,  a  rocket  from  the  Kahlenberg  gave  the  signal  for 
the  advance,  and  the  excitement  in  Vienna  was  raised  to 
fever  pitch.     The  battle,  though  sharp,  was  short,  and  it 
was  decisive.     The  rout  of  the  Turks  was  complete,   for 
panic  succeeded  to  surprise,  though  they  rallied  and  fell 
back  very  reluctantly  from  a  campaign  which  they  had 
expected  to  be  crowned  with  victory.     In  all  the  fighting 
Eugene  had  been  to  the  front  under  the  command  of  his 
cousin,  Louis  of   Baden,  who  at   that   time   showed  none 
of   the   lack   of  energy  with   which   he   was   subsequently 
charged.     But   after   the    great   battle    on   the    Marchfeld, 
there  was  a  brief  rest  in  Vienna,  when  the  young  soldier 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  most  renowned  leaders  of 
the  imperial  armies. 

After  a  few  days  of  repose  the  army  was  following  the 
enemy,  and  Eugene,  attached  to  the  staff  of  his  cousin, 
distinguished  himself  in  various  cavalry  actions,  in  which, 
as  he  says  in  his  Memoirs,  "  the  Turks  were  cut  to  pieces 
without  mercy."  The  Emperor  received  him  graciously, 
and,  what  was  more  to  the  purpose,  promised  him  the  first 
vacant  command.  While  the  army  was  in  winter  quarters 
the  promise  was  redeemed,  and  he  was  gazetted  to  the 
colonelcy  of  a  regiment  of  Tyrolese  dragoons. 

Next  summer,  when  the  tables  had  been  turned  on  the 


ii6  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

Turks,  Lorraine  was  laying  siege  to  Buda.     In  a  battle  in 
which  a  relieving  army  was  routed,  Eugene  covered  him- 
self with  fresh  laurels,  and  was  specially  named  by  the  Duke 
in  despatches.     That  summer's  campaign  brought  him  both 
credit  and  promotion.     He  was  given  the  rank  of  major- 
general,  for  princes  could  rise   rapidly  in  those  days,  and 
his  cousin  Louis  wrote  to  the  Kaiser  :    "  This  youth  will 
in  time  take  his  place  with  those  who  are  regarded  as  great 
leaders  of  armies."     It  was  not  only  his  cousin  who  held 
him    in    high    estimation ;    next    summer,    after    another 
brilliant  victory  before  Buda  against  an  army  led  by  the 
new  Grand  Vizier,   Eugene   was  selected  by  the  fighting 
Elector  of  Bavaria  to  carry  the  news  to  Vienna.     Having 
delivered  his  message,  he  did  not  loiter.     A  grand  assault 
on  the  fortress  was  imminent,  and  he  would  not  miss  the 
chance  of  glory.     So  far  he  had  his  wish  that  he  arrived  in 
time  to  take  his  post  in  the  storm.     It  is  needless  to  follow 
him  through  the  complicated  operations  in  detail.     But  at 
the    second   battle    of    Mohacs,    when    the    defeat    of   the 
Magyars  on  the  former  memorable  field  was  terribly  avenged 
on  the  Turks,  Eugene,  at  the  head  of  a  cavalry  brigade, 
charged  the  trenches  and  cleared  the  ditches  behind  when 
the   flower   of   the   Turkish  infantry  were   making   a  last 
desperate  stand,  pursuing  the  chase,  sabring  and  slaughter- 
ing, till  his  troopers  had  to  draw  rein  from  sheer  exhaustion. 
First  in  the  trenches,  he  says  himself  :    "  I  took  a  crescent 
and  planted  the  imperial  eagle."     Again  he  was  sent  to 
carry  the  news  to  the  Emperor.     Nor  did  he  lose  anything 
by  the  departure  of  his  two  special  patrons,  the  Elector  of 
Bavaria  and   Louis  of   Baden,   whose   susceptibilities  had 
been  ruffled,  and  who  had  resigned  in  disgust.     The  loss 


PRINCE   EUGENE  117 

brought  him  into  personal  relations  with  the  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  who  was  not  slow  to  appreciate  his  merits. 
Already,  indeed,  his  fame  had  been  spreading  far  and  wide, 
so  much  so  that  his  time-serving  kinsman,  Victor  Amadeus 
of  Savoy,  deemed  it  worth  while  to  pay  him  a  substantial 
comphment.  With  consent  of  the  Pope  the  dashing  young 
cavalry  leader  was  rewarded  with  the  revenues  of  two  of 
the  best  Piedmontese  benefices.  Simultaneously  Leopold 
advanced  the  mitred  major-general  to  the  rank  of  heu- 
tenant-general.  "  A  colonel  at  twenty,"  so  he  writes  com- 
placently, "  I  was  a  lieutenant-general  at  twenty-five." 

The  event  of  1688  was  the  storm  of  Belgrade.  Max 
Emmanuel  of  Bavaria  was  in  command  ;  he  had  been 
conciliated  by  the  generous  conduct  of  Lorraine,  who  had 
retired  rather  than  alienate  so  important  an  ally.  The 
siege  was  pressed  with  ceaseless  fire  from  the  batteries,  and 
with  breaches  pronounced  barely  practicable  a  morning 
was  fixed  for  the  assault.  To  Eugene's  disappointment 
and  surprise  the  command  of  the  five  attacking  columns  was 
given  to  other  generals.  He  remonstrated  with  his  friend, 
the  Commander-in-Chief.  "  You  shall  remain  with  me  in 
reserve,"  said  the  Elector,  "  and  in  this  I  am  neither  taking 
away  nor  giving  you  a  bad  commission.  God  knows  what 
may  happen  "  {sic).  As  Eugene  goes  on,  "  He  had  guessed 
the  result."  The  stormers  under  Stahrenberg  were  brought 
up  unexpectedly  by  a  deep  ditch,  strongly  stockaded. 
"  All  the  assailants  were  repulsed.  Sword  in  hand,  this 
brave  prince  and  myself  rallied  and  cheered  them.  I 
mounted  the  breach  ;  a  Janissary  cleft  my  helmet  with  a 
stroke  of  his  sabre  ;  I  passed  my  sword  through  his  body, 
and  the  Elector  had  an  arrow  in  his  cheek.     Nothing  could 


ii8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

be  more  brilliant  or  more  sanguinary.  How  strangely  one 
may  find  amusement  amidst  scenes  of  the  greatest  horror. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  grimaces  of  the  Jews,  who  had  to 
throw  into  the  Danube  the  bodies  of  12,000  men,  to  save 
the  trouble  and  expense  of  burying  them." 

Sorely  against  his  will,  Eugene  had  to  quit  the  camp 
charged  with  a  diplomatic  mission.  The  victories  of  the 
Emperor,  which  had  recovered  Hungary  and  Transylvania, 
had  alarmed  Louis,  who,  easily  fi.nding  a  pretext,  sent  his 
armies  into  the  field  to  assail  the  western  frontier  of 
Germany.  It  was  then  the  Palatinate  was  overrun  and 
ruthlessly  ravaged.  Assailed  on  both  sides,  for  he  declined 
to  come  to  honourable  terms  with  the  Turks,  Leopold  was 
casting  about  for  new  alliances.  That  of  the  Duke  of 
Savoy  became  of  great  importance,  and  Eugene,  under 
pretence  of  renewing  relations  with  his  family,  was  to 
travel  to  Turin.  He  was  under  no  delusion  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  his  cousin,  although  he  made  allowances.  "  Those 
petty  princes,"  as  he  remarks  elsewhere,  "  such  as  the 
Dukes  of  Lorraine  and  Bavaria,  are  prevented  by  their 
geography  from  being  men  of  honour."  He  knew  Victor 
Amadeus  "to  be  sordid,  ambitious,  deceitful,  implacable, 
&c.,"  detesting  and  dreading  Louis,  indifferent  to  Leopold, 
and  always  ready  to  betray  both.  The  way  to  influence 
him  was  through  his  mistresses  or  his  ministers,  and  the 
envoy  could  count  upon  support  from  neither.  Eugene  was 
half  Italian,  and  though,  soldier-like,  he  went  straight  to 
the  point,  it  was  with  some  suggestion  of  Machiavellian 
subtlety.  He  bluntly  told  the  Duke  he  would  always  be  the 
slave  of  his  mortal  enemy,  unless  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
Emperor,  who  promised  magnificent  rewards,  counsehing 


PRINCE   EUGENE  119 

him  at  the  same  time  to  dissemble  till  he  was  ready  to 
throw  off  the  mask.  Later  the  envoy  was  to  have  many 
trying  experiences  of  the  duplicity  he  advised.  He  flattered 
the  Duke  by  giving  him  the  title  of  Royal  Highness. 
"  Sign  the  treaty  with  the  Emperor  at  Venice,"  he  added  ; 
"  there  in  the  festivities  of  the  Carnival  you  will  meet  the 
Bavarian  Elector,  who  is  fond  of  amusement  like  yourself." 
Eugene  did  not  foresee  that  his  friend  the  Elector  was  to 
wreck  his  fortunes  by  a  change  of  pohcy  to  which  he  was 
to  be  more  constant  than  the  vacillating  Duke. 

Eugene  on  his  return  to  Vienna  was  warmly  congratu- 
lated by  the  Emperor  on  his  success.  Characteristically, 
he  only  asked,  by  way  of  reward,  permission  to  pay  a  flying 
visit  to  the  Rhine  frontier,  where  he  had  the  luck  to  arrive 
in  time  to  see  the  storm  of  Mayence  and  carry  away  a 
musket  ball  in  the  shoulder  by  way  of  souvenir. 

Payment  of  the  subsidies  stipulated  with  the  allies  con- 
verted for  the  time  the  Duke  of  Savoy  into  "  the  staun chest 
Austrian  in  the  world."  Eugene  was  to  be  sent  to  his 
assistance  and  to  confirm  him  in  his  new  resolution,  and 
was  promised  a  force  of  7000  men.  With  his  experience  of 
imperial  delays,  he  would  not  wait,  and  left  them  to  follow. 
"  Eager  to  engage  the  French,  whom  I  had  never  yet  seen 
opposed  to  me,"  he  hurried  to  the  Piedmontese  camp. 
The  Duke  was  all  fire  ;  to  do  him  justice  he  always  de- 
lighted in  battle.  "  I  am  going  to  give  Catinat  battle," 
he  said,  "  and  you  are  just  in  time."  With  all  his  headlong 
courage  in  action,  Eugene  was  never  rash.  "  Be  cautious," 
he  said  ;  "  Catinat  is  an  able  general,  and  commands  the 
flower  of  the  French  army."  The  caution  was  justified. 
Catinat  took  the  initiative,  led  his  men  across  morasses 


I20  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

deemed  impassable,  and  Eugene,  who  had  stubbornly  held 
his  own  on  the  left,  found  his  flank  turned,  and,  withdrawing 
his  division,  was  reduced  to  covering  the  retreat.  Catinat 
carried  all  before  him  ;  the  Duke  had  lost  everything  but 
his  capital,  and  Eugene  went  back  to  Vienna  with  a  most 
disheartening  report  of  the  campaign.  For  himself,  he  had 
had  some  satisfaction  for  the  discomfiture  in  the  battle. 
He  laid  an  ambuscade  for  a  large  French  detachment 
returning  loaded  with  plunder  from  the  pillage  of  a  town. 
Thoughtless  of  danger,  they  gave  notice  of  their  approach 
by  singing  in  light-hearted  French  fashion  "  at  the  stretch 
of  their  throats."  They  changed  their  note  when  they 
were  being  cut  to  pieces  almost  to  a  man,  though  the  Prince 
"  scolded  the  soldiers  severely  for  treating  the  prisoners 
d  la  Turque.  They  had  forgotten  that  it  is  usual  to  give 
quarter  to  Christians,"  and  indeed,  in  the  wars  of  the  time, 
the  rule  was  as  often  honoured  in  the  breach  as  in  the 
observance. 

No  general  did  more  generous  justice  to  his  opponents. 
When  baffled  or  checked  in  the  game  of  war  he  had  only 
admiration  for  the  tactics  which  foiled  him.  He  owns  that 
he  sometimes  let  his  ardour  get  the  better  of  his  judgment, 
whereas  Catinat,  always  cool,  performed  prodigies  both  as 
a  general  and  soldier.  But  in  the  campaigns  in  Piedmont 
he  was  constantly  embarrassed  by  the  treachery  of  the 
double-faced  and  plausible  Duke.  Victor  Amadeus,  with 
his  fortresses  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  unscrupulously 
took  the  money  of  the  allies  while  selling  their  secrets  to 
Catinat.  Once  Eugene,  arriving  unexpectedly,  found  him 
closeted  with  a  French  envoy.  The  lame  explanation  was 
that  he  was  negotiating  with  Catinat,  but  only  with  a  view 


PRINCE   EUGENE  121 

to  deceive  him  the  better.  When  Eugene  undertook  any 
enterprise,  he  had  to  mislead  the  Duke  as  well  as  the  enemy. 
"  It  was  impossible  to  determine  whether  this  unaccount- 
able Duke  wished  or  did  not  wish  to  gain  the  battles  which 
he  fought."  Summer  after  summer,  he  saw  the  military 
fame  which  was  as  the  breath  of  his  nostrils  imperilled  by 
conditions  he  could  not  control.  Hot  as  he  was  in  action, 
he  showed  the  sweetness  of  a  temper  which  strove  to  make 
the  best  of  things  and  of  a  patience  which  was  training 
itself  to  wait  and  hope.  At  last,  in  i6g6,  matters  came  to 
a  head.  The  Duke  confessed  that,  weary  of  hostilities,  he 
had  concluded  a  treaty  with  Louis.  He  marched  his  troops 
to  the  camp  of  Catinat,  and  with  the  French  general  be- 
leaguered the  Imperialists  in  Valence.  Disgusted  with  the 
war  and  outmanoeuvred  in  negotiation,  Eugene  for  the  time 
turned  his  back  on  Piedmont.  The  Emperor  understood 
the  situation  and  was  cordial  as  before.  The  Prince,  with 
unfettered  hands,  was  to  have  command  of  the  army  in 
Hungary,  and  he  could  have  desired  nothing  better.  At 
the  same  time  there  was  an  incident  which  could  have  been 
scarcely  less  gratifying.  Louis,  who  had  contemptuously 
refused  "  the  little  Abbe "  a  commission,  taking  it  for 
granted  that  he  had  been  disgusted  by  the  treachery  of  the 
Duke  and  the  success  of  the  French  intrigues,  made  him 
the  most  flattering  overtures  if  he  would  pass  into  his 
service.  Eugene  remarks  that  his  reception  of  the  pro- 
posals was  certainly  never  textually  reported  at  Versailles. 

Heart  and  soul  he  was  devoted  to  his  profession. 
During  these  latter  years  there  had  been  various  interludes 
in  which  he  had  taken  some  sort  of  holiday,  though  business 
of  the  Empire  was  always  the  object.     More  than  once  he 


122  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

had  visited  Venice,  where  dissipation  and  luxury  reigned 
supreme,  in  company  of  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  and  other 
princes,  who  threw  themselves  into  all  the  follies  of  the 
place.  Eugene  makes  no  profession  of  morality  ;  he  merely 
remarks  that  he  might  have  had  his  amours  like  the  others, 
had  he  been  so  inclined — that  there  were  many  complaisant 
husbands  who  would  have  welcomed  him  in  the  role  of 
Cicisbeo  to  their  wives,  but  as  it  happened  he  had  other 
matters  to  attend  to. 

The  Emperor  would  have  done  better  to  make  terms 
with  the  Turks  when  they  were  in  conciliatory  mood  after 
the  capture  of  Belgrade.  The  strength  and  finances  of  the 
Empire  were  overtaxed  by  the  triple  war  on  the  Rhine,  in 
Italy,  and  on  the  Danube.  The  pride  of  the  Sultan  had 
been  piqued  by  his  humiliating  reverses,  and  above  all  by 
the  loss  of  Belgrade.  Within  two  years  of  the  loss,  Bel- 
grade had  been  recovered,  and  in  1696  the  steady  Turkish 
approaches  had  again  become  very  threatening.  Another 
siege  of  Vienna  seemed  not  impossible.  Various  leaders 
had  lost  credit  in  successive  campaigns,  and  after  some 
hesitation,  for  he  had  powerful  enemies  at  Court,  Eugene 
had  at  last  been  selected,  as  the  most  fortunate  of  the 
imperial  generals.  It  was  not  till  midsummer  of  1697 
that  he  received  his  commission,  and  he  set  out  imme- 
diately for  the  army.  The  army  had  been  starved,  and  if 
his  predecessors  in  command  had  been  unlucky,  it  was  not 
altogether  their  own  fault.  The  troops  were  destitute  of 
everything — their  pay  was  long  in  arrear,  their  clothing  was 
in  rags,  and  the  arsenals  were  empty.  As  with  Napoleon's 
marshals  in  the  Peninsula,  jealousies  were  rife  and  the 
divisional  commanders  were  at  open  enmity.     Happily,  as 


PRINCE   EUGENE  123 

Eugene  remarks,  the  Turks  were  never  in  a  hurry,  and  he 
had  already  arrived  at  headquarters  before  the  grand  army 
of  the  Ottomans  under  the  Grand  Signior  himself  had  reached 
Sofia.  But  if  the  march  was  as  slow  as  the  methods  of 
mobilisation,  the  motley  host  was  none  the  less  formidable. 
From  the  Asiatic  and  European  provinces  Kara  Mustapha 
had  mustered  the  most  numerous  army  the  Turks  had  put 
in  the  field  since  their  sanguinary  defeat  at  Mohacs. 
Eugene  improved  the  delay  to  the  utmost.  He  sent 
pressing  demands  to  Vienna  for  supplies,  which  in  the 
emergency  were  more  or  less  satisfactorily  responded  to, 
and  imperative  orders  to  the  divisional  generals  to 
concentrate. 

He  had  had  his  earlier  experiences  of  Oriental  cam- 
paigning, although  without  the  responsibilities  of  supreme 
command.  He  had  to  adapt  himself  to  unfamiliar  condi- 
tions and  combinations,  for  it  was  a  very  different  warfare 
from  that  he  had  directed  in  Italy  and  witnessed  on  the 
Rhine.  We  get  a  vivid  idea  of  it  in  the  picturesque 
pages  of  M.  de  la  Colonic,  "  the  old  campaigner,"  whose 
chronicles  were  recently  published.  It  is  true  that  M.  de 
la  Colonic  speaks  of  twenty  years  later,  when  he  served 
under  the  Prince  at  the  last  memorable  siege  of  Belgrade, 
but  the  Oriental  methods  had  changed  but  little  since 
Charles  Martel  routed  the  Saracens  on  the  plain  of  Tours. 
They  understood  nothing  of  scientific  war  as  it  had  been 
studied  and  developed  in  Western  Europe.  Leisurely  as 
their  movements  might  be,  when  they  faced  the  foe  they 
were  always  keen  to  force  the  fighting  ;  if  they  once  broke 
the  enemy's  ranks  defeat  became  irretrievable  disaster  ; 
with  their  flying  squadrons  of  light  horse  they  followed  up 


124  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  advantage  so  swiftly  that  the  fugitives  had  not  a 
moment  to  rally.  Invariably  the  Christians  were  greatly 
outnumbered,  but,  fortunately  for  them,  there  was  little 
discipline  in  the  raw  levies  raised  on  the  feudal  system. 
Each  was  headed  by  its  own  Pacha  or  Seraskier,  who,  with- 
out regard  to  the  numbers  of  his  contingent,  occupied  the 
central  pavilion  in  an  encampment  of  his  own.  He  was 
supposed  to  relieve  the  Porte  of  all  details  as  to  clothing, 
pay,  or  transport,  which  were  left  very  much  to  haphazard. 
The  most  formidable  arm  of  the  irregulars  was  the  horse, 
admirably  adapted  for  scouting  or  foraging,  and  terrible  in 
the  resistless  onset  when  ranks  were  broken.  They  prided 
themselves  on  the  keenness  of  their  sabres,  which  they  used 
with  a  dexterity  which  was  almost  sleight  of  hand,  and 
so  the  German  troopers  who  came  from  the  Netherlands 
lined  the  hats  they  had  worn  there  with  solid  steel  plating. 
As  for  the  Turkish  and  Tartar  horse,  they  guarded  the 
head,  as  native  cavalry  in  India  do  at  the  present  day, 
with  the  cumbrous  folds  of  a  turban,  impervious  alike  to 
sunstroke  and  the  sabre.  That  was  likewise  the  head- 
wear  of  the  Janissaries,  who,  as  Kinglake  described  the 
Zouaves  in  the  Crimea,  were  the  steel  point  of  the  Turkish 
lance.  The  Janissaries  had  the  discipline  the  others  lacked, 
with  the  indomitable  pride  of  a  military  caste  who  pre- 
ferred death  to  dishonour.  Bred  from  boyhood  to  warfare 
in  their  barracks,  with  the  nerves  and  strong  limbs  of 
Rayahs  from  the  Christian  provinces,  fatalists  as  far  as 
they  had  any  faith,  they  were  unequalled  in  the  stubborn 
defence  of  entrenchments,  and  they  rushed  to  the  escalade 
of  fortifications  as  to  a  fete.  It  was  with  the  Janissaries 
Eugene  had  chiefly  to  reckon,  and  they  were  never  spared 


PRINCE   EUGENE  125 

when  protecting  the  retreat  in  the  days  of  disaster  they 
were  now  to  experience. 

When  he  reached  the  camp  the  general  behef  was  that 
the  Grand  Signior  intended  to  lay  siege  to  Peterwardein 
on  the  Danube.  But  with  the  advancing  army  screened 
behind  clouds  of  light  horse,  it  was  difficult  to  obtain 
reliable  intelligence.  Suddenly,  and  to  his  surprise,  Eugene 
learned  that,  in  place  of  passing  the  Save,  the  Turks  had 
crossed  the  Danube  lower  down,  and  by  a  crafty  move 
had  placed  themselves  in  a  position  either  to  intercept 
Count  Rabutin,  who  was  on  his  march  to  headquarters 
with  his  detachment,  or  to  strike  at  Peterwardein.  Eugene 
had  been  deceived  ;  he  had  marched  up  the  Theiss  to  meet 
Rabutin,  but  he  hurried  back  in  time  to  save  Peterwardein 
— "  too  late,"  as  he  remarks,  to  assist  General  Nehem,  who 
had  been  holding  the  covering  fortress  of  Titel.  The 
episode  is  worth  mentioning  for  his  comments  on  it.  "  I 
arrived  too  late,  but  nevertheless  praised  him,  for  he  could 
not  have  held  out  any  longer.  God  be  praised,  I  never 
complained  of  any  one,  neither  did  I  ever  throw  upon 
another  the  blame  of  a  fault  or  a  misfortune."  Nor  does 
he  say  so  much  without  reason.  In  Piedmont,  among  the 
imperial  generals,  no  one  had  been  more  unfriendly  than 
the  Prince  of  Commercy,  and  he  had  more  than  once  been 
embarrassed  by  his  jealousy  or  ill-will.  Yet  in  the  Memoirs 
he  never  misses  an  opportunity  of  speaking  of  Commercy 
in  the  highest  terms. 

There  is  nothing  to  note  in  the  manoeuvres  which  pre- 
ceded the  decisive  battle  of  Zenta.  Eugene  was  always 
embarrassed  by  the  swarms  of  cavalry  he  had  difficulty  in 
keeping  at  bay.     At  length  he  had  the  luck  to  catch  a 


126  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Pacha  who  had  been  sent  on  a  reconnoitring  expedition. 
The  Pacha  was  obstinately  silent,  till  he  found  his  tongue 
when  "  surrounded  by  four  hussars  with  drawn  sabres, 
ready  to  cut  him  in  pieces."  Then  Eugene  learned  that  the 
bulk  of  the  Ottoman  army  was  at  Zenta  on  the  Theiss, 
entrenched  behind  formidable  field-works.  "  I  was  march- 
ing to  attack  them  when  a  cursed  courier  brought  me  an 
order  from  the  Emperor  not  to  give  battle  under  any  cir- 
cumstances." He  had  advanced,  as  he  says,  too  far  to 
draw  back.  As  Nelson  put  the  telescope  to  his  blind  eye 
at  Copenhagen,  Eugene  thrust  the  imperial  letter  into  his 
pocket  and  rode  on  to  reconnoitre  at  the  head  of  six  regi- 
ments of  dragoons.  He  saw  the  Turks  were  preparing  to 
pass  the  river,  and  galloped  back  to  his  army  in  high  spirits. 
His  look  of  elation,  he  says,  was  accepted  by  them  as  a 
good  omen.  He  began  the  battle  by  heading  a  charge 
which  sent  2000  Spahis  back  to  their  entrenchments.  Then 
he  directed  a  slow  and  complicated  movement  which  was 
to  envelop  the  whole  Turkish  army  in  a  semi-circular  on- 
slaught. It  was  a  decision  taken  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment,  one  of  the  impromptu  flashes  of  genius  which 
mark  the  bom  general.  It  was  one  of  those  liberties  in 
violation  of  the  accepted  rules  of  war  on  which  he  ventured 
when  he  counted  with  the  character  of  the  leader  opposed 
to  him.  "  I  should  not  have  dared  to  do  so  before  Catinat," 
he  remarks  half  apologetically.  The  encircling  movement 
slowly  developed.  Meantime  Eugene  in  the  centre,  having 
driven  in  the  Spahis,  advanced  with  some  light  field-pieces 
in  the  line  to  reply  to  the  tremendous  fire  from  the  Turkish 
batteries.  The  Turkish  camp  was  a  half  crescent,  covering 
the  bridge  which  spanned  the  river.     Below  the  bridge  the 


PRINCE  EUGENE  127 

banks  were  steep  ;  above  the  Theiss  ran  shallow,  and  in 
the  middle  was  a  sandbank,  which  was  to  be  used  after- 
wards with  fatal  effect  for  the  turning  movement  that  took 
the  enemy's  entrenchments  in  the  rear.  A  long  train  of 
loaded  waggons,  serving  Boer-fashion  as  a  second  line  of 
defence,  were  in  waiting  to  pass  the  bridge.  The  battle 
was  going  with  the  Imperialists  but  the  day  was  drawing 
on,  and  Eugene  was  alarmed  lest  the  darkness  should  mask 
the  Turkish  retreat.  It  was  six  in  the  evening  ere  the 
entrenchments  were  breached,  but  then  they  were  being 
broken  and  assaulted  at  many  points.  The  Turks  crowded 
in  panic  to  the  bridge  and  choked  it  ;  they  had  to  choose 
between  drowning  and  falling  by  the  sword.  "  On  every 
side  was  heard  the  cry  of  Aman  !  Aman  !  which  signifies 
quarter,"  but  little  quarter  was  given.  "  At  ten  of  the 
night  the  slaughter  stiU  continued  ;  I  could  not  take  more 
than  4000  prisoners,  but  20,000  were  left  dead  on  the  field 
and  10,000  were  drowned.  I  did  not  lose  1000  men." 
The  Janissaries  fought  it  out  to  the  last  with  the  indomi- 
table spirit  of  the  corps.  Assailed  on  every  side,  they  were 
forced  back  at  last,  and  then  they  found  their  retreat  to 
the  bridge  intercepted  by  a  body  of  pikemen  under  Guido 
Stahrenberg.  They  were  virtually  annihilated.  The  few 
who  escaped  saved  themselves  by  swimming,  but  most  of 
those  who  threw  themselves  into  the  water  were  swept 
away  on  the  current,  for  the  river  was  in  flood. 

An  immense  booty  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 
The  Grand  Signior  and  all  his  feudal  aristocracy  had  taken 
the  field  in  state.  The  pavilions  with  their  rich  contents 
had  been  abandoned.  Among  the  spoils  was  the  great  seal 
of  the  Empire,  to  which  special  solemnity  attached,  and 


128  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

which  should  have  been  worn  round  the  neck  of  the  Grand 
Vizier.  All  the  weapons  of  the  motley  host  had  been 
abandoned,  with  the  great  train  of  artillery  and  innu- 
merable horses  and  animals  of  transport.  There  were  the 
treasure  chests  as  well,  but  though  the  contents  sound 
formidable  in  piastres,  they  barely  amounted  to  £25,000  of 
our  money. 

The  loss  of  prestige,  with  the  demoralisation  that  fol- 
lowed, was  even  more  serious.  Thenceforth  between 
Osmanli  and  Christian  the  situation  was  to  be  reversed. 
The  Imperialists  pushed  their  successes  and  encroachments, 
and  the  Turks  in  their  turn  had  to  stand  on  the  defensive, 
parrying  the  strokes  that  were  dealt  them  in  rapid  succes- 
sion. Immediately  after  the  victory  it  was  fuU  late  in  the 
year  to  carry  the  campaign  into  the  malarious  flats  of  the 
Danube.  Eugene,  impetuous  as  he  was,  never  ventured 
his  foot  farther  than  he  could  safely  draw  it  back.  He 
contented  himself  with  raiding  Bosnia,  taking  the  castles 
and  burning  the  towns,  and  then  he  scattered  his  men  in 
their  winter  quarters. 

There  was  no  safe  reckoning  with  the  Court  of  Vienna, 
where  whisperers  and  backbiters  had  the  Emperor's  ear. 
Eugene  repaired  thither  in  the  highest  spirits,  confidently 
expecting  a  welcome  "  a  hundred  times  warmer  "  than  he 
had  ever  received  before.  On  the  contrary,  "  Leopold  gave 
me  the  coldest  of  audiences ;  more  dry  than  ever,  he 
listened  without  saying  a  word."  The  victor  of  Zenta  was 
actually  asked  to  surrender  his  sword,  "  My  rage  was 
silent ;  I  was  put  under  arrest  in  my  hotel."  He  heard  he 
was  to  be  court-martiaUed  for  disobedience  of  orders,  with 
probable  condemnation  to  death.    The  popular  indignation 


PRINCE   EUGENE  129 

at  the  injustice  was  intense  ;  Eugene  says  that  with  tears 
in  his  eyes  he  had  to  use  his  influence  to  prevent  an  emeute. 
But  the  popular  demonstration  was  effective,  and  Eugene 
had  a  speedy  revenge.  The  pride  of  the  Hapsburg  was 
humbled  ;  the  Emperor  not  only  returned  him  his  sword, 
but  prayed  him  to  continue  to  command  in  Hungary.  He 
consented,  on  the  understanding  that  thenceforth  he  should 
have  absolute  carte  blanche — a  stipulation  accepted,  though 
subsequently  broken.  "The  poor  Emperor  dared  not 
concede  so  much  publicly,"  but  the  General  compromised 
for  a  private  note  to  that  effect,  signed  by  the  Emperor's 
own  hand.  The  renewed  appointment  led  to  little,  for 
again  the  war  was  starved,  and  next  year  the  Imperiahsts 
were  comparatively  inactive.  But  the  Prince's  services  had 
had  more  substantial  recognition  ;  he  had  the  grant  of 
large  domains  in  Hungary,  and  was  becoming  a  wealthy 
man.  He  built  or  bought  a  palace  in  the  Kaiserstadt,  laid 
out  gardens,  began  a  noble  library,  and  collected  paintings 
and  drawings  for  his  galleries.  He  gave  sumptuous  enter- 
tainments, and  had  his  private  band,  "  to  relieve  me  during 
dinner  from  the  necessity  of  hstening  to  tiresome  persons." 

Not  unwillingly  he  was  disturbed  in  his  Viennese  Capua 
by  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  for  never  was  he  so 
happy  or  so  much  at  home  as  in  the  tented  field.  In  1701 
he  was  in  Italy,  facing  his  old  opponent  Catinat  "  with 
30,000  good  veteran  troops."  "  I  was  now  in  the  full 
career  of  war,  after  ten  days  of  incredible  labour  among 
mountains  and  precipices  with  2000  pioneers."  He  had 
crossed  the  mountains  from  Roveredo  to  Vicenza  by  one 
of  the  most  daring  marches  on  record,  and  Catinat  for  once 
was  taken  completely  by  surprise.     The  Prince  had  sealed 


I30  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  Tyroiese  passes  so  that  no  news  of  his  movement  should 
escape,  and  had  lavished  money  on  spies  who  had  brought 
him  sure  intelligence.  Catinat  fell  back,  leaving  him  all 
the  country  between  the  Mincio  and  the  Adige.  He  passed 
the  Mincio.  Catinat,  though  stiU  with  the  army,  had  been 
superseded  by  the  incapable  Villeroi,  but  the  double-faced 
Duke  of  Savoy  was  in  nominal  command.  There  is  a 
comic  element  in  that  campaign,  and  Eugene,  who  knew 
his  cousin  well  by  this  time,  had  begun  to  manipulate  him. 
Catinat,  before  the  desperate  battle  near  Chiari,  had  ad- 
vised retreat  ;  the  Duke,  "  who  wished  Villeroi  to  get  a 
sound  drubbing,"  was  all  for  the  battle.  "  Never,"  says 
Eugene,  "  did  I  witness  such  valour "  as  on  the  ist 
September.  He  won  the  victory,  but  "  Victor  Amadeus 
was  everywhere,  exposing  himself  like  the  most  deter- 
mined of  the  soldiers.  What  a  singular  character  !  He 
wished  to  lose  the  battle,  but  habitual  courage  stifled  the 
suggestions  of  policy."  Success  after  success  kept  the 
French  on  the  retreat,  but  the  season  closed  with  the 
exhaustion  of  both  armies.  The  French  were  deserting  by 
hundreds.  Eugene's  forces  were  also  dwindling  perceptibly, 
"  but  my  men  were  attached  to  me,  and  endured  their  hard- 
ships with  patience."  His  horses,  fed  on  dead  leaves,  were 
dying  for  lack  of  forage,  powder  and  lead  were  giving  out, 
no  money  was  forthcoming,  and  his  urgent  appeals  for 
supplies  and  reinforcements  were,  as  usual,  only  answered 
by  delusive  promises.  These  were  indeed  the  invariable 
conditions  under  which  he  fought  his  campaigns.  An 
empty  treasury  always  crippled  the  operations ;  when, 
after  a  summer  of  straits  and  shifts,  the  troops  were  in 
winter  quarters,  their  general  either  hurried  to  Vienna  to 


PRINCE   EUGENE  131 

press  for  means  or  despatched  a  confidential  officer  on  the 
mission. 

i^But  this  is  not  a  life  of  Eugene  ;  it  is  simply  an 
episodical  sketch.  Enough  has  been  given  in  detail  to 
show  something  of  his  character  and  capacity,  and  the  rest 
may  be  more  summarily  dismissed,  the  rather  that  his 
greatest  campaigns  in  conjunction  with  Marlborough  belong 
to  familiar  English  history.  But  this  winter,  while  he 
remained  in  Italy  with  the  army,  there  was  an  incident 
notably  characteristic  of  der  edle  Ritter,  whose  romantic 
daring  made  him  the  hero  of  the  camp  songs,  for  even  in 
the  winter  camp  he  could  not  hibernate  like  other  com- 
manders. One  of  these  incidents  was  the  surprise  of  the 
fortress  of  Cremona,  held  by  a  strong  garrison  under 
Marshal  Villeroi.  It  came  off  in  a  night  of  rain  and  storm, 
and  had  nearly  been  a  signal  success  ;  as  at  the  surprise  of 
Bergen-op-Zoom  under  Lord  Lynedoch,  the  assailants  had 
actually  penetrated  to  the  heart  of  the  town,  and  they 
were  only  repulsed  through  a  failure  in  combination,  when 
the  garrison  rallied  and  discovered  their  weakness.  As  it 
was,  ViUeroi  himself  was  carried  away  a  prisoner,  though 
in  the  end  that  proved  a  doubtful  gain,  for  the  incompetent 
courtier  of  Versailles  was  replaced  by  Vendome,  an  anta- 
gonist in  every  way  worthy  of  Eugene,  and  who,  like  him, 
seldom  or  ever  blundered.  After  much  manoeuvring  and 
some  sharp  fighting  in  the  early  spring,  so  fully  did  Eugene 
recognise  this  that  he  resolved  to  attempt  a  repetition  of 
the  Cremona  exploit,  and  send  Vendome  to  keep  Villeroi 
company  at  Vienna.  Vendome  in  action  was  the  soul  of 
energy,  but  he  was  careless  of  danger,  and  indolence  was  his 
besetting  sin.     He  occupied  a  solitary  villa  on  the  Mincio, 


132  SOLDIERS   OF    FORTUNE 

at  no  great  distance  from  the  imperial  lines.  A  water-party 
of  200  men  had  well-nigh  caught  him  napping  when  an 
untimely  shot  gave  the  alarm  prematurely,  and  the  party, 
which  were  under  the  windows  of  the  viUa,  had  to  beat  a 
hasty  retreat.  There  was  suspicion  of  treachery,  and  every 
man  of  them  was  court-martialled  and  closely  examined, 
but  all  were  acquitted  with  the  Scotch  verdict  of  "  Not 
proven."  The  narrow  escape  effectually  roused  Vendome, 
and  the  skill  of  Eugene  was  taxed  to  the  utmost  to  hold 
his  positions  against  a  general  eager  for  revenge  and  with 
far  superior  forces.  After  a  summer  of  feints  and  counter- 
feints  the  French  fell  back,  and  Eugene  could  write  to  the 
Emperor  that  he  had  worn  the  enemy  out,  though  he 
admitted  that  he  had  not  gained  the  smallest  advantage. 

In  1703  the  scene  shifts  to  the  other  side  of  the  Alps. 
The  political  situation  had  been  changing  likewise,  and  not 
to  the  advantage  of  the  Emperor.  There  were  five  French 
armies  in  the  field,  all  under  more  or  less  able  marshals. 
Eugene's  old  leader,  Max  Emanuel,  a  dangerous  enemy, 
had  finally  decided  for  the  French,  opening  a  way  for  them 
into  the  heart  of  the  Austrian  dominions.  It  is  true  that 
Marlborough  was  on  the  Meuse,  having  broken  the  defen- 
sive barrier  of  the  French  fortresses,  and  the  Dutch  and 
Prussians  had  been  victorious  on  the  Lower  Rhine.  But 
on  the  other  hand  Hungary  had  risen  in  revolt,  Vienna  was 
in  alarm,  and  Presburg  in  imminent  danger.  Eugene 
explained  the  situation  briefly,  and  spoke  out  bluntly  as 
was  his  custom.  "  The  Emperor  made  me  War  Minister. 
I  told  him  that  war  could  not  be  carried  on  without  troops 
or  money.  ...  I  put  a  stop  to  the  peculations  in  every 
department.  ...  I  said  to  the  Emperor,  '  Your  army,  sire, 


PRINCE   EUGENE  133 

is  your  monarchy  ;  your  capital  is  your  frontier  town. 
Your  Majesty  has  no  fortress  ;  every  one  is  paid  except 
those  who  serve  you.  Make  peace,  sire,  if  you  cannot 
carry  on  war,  and  it  is  evident  that  you  cannot  do  without 
the  money  of  England.'  "  It  outhned  the  poHcy  he  advo- 
cated, and  indicated  the  alHance  he  negotiated.  He  gained 
his  point  and  persuaded  the  Emperor,  but  ex  nihilo  nihil 
fit,  and  no  money  was  immediately  forthcoming.  He  took 
the  field  in  Hungary  in  person,  but  "  though  Minister  at 
War,  I  could  not  even  give  myself  the  army  which  Leopold 
had  promised,  and  was  unable  to  do  anything."  Next  year 
the  Hungarian  rebels  were  actually  in  the  suburbs  of 
Vienna,  and  it  was  all  Eugene  could  do  to  repulse  them 
witli  his  slender  garrison  and  a  muster  of  the  burghers 
behind  entrenchments  hastily  thrown  up. 

Again  he  urged  his  views  on  the  Emperor,  and  now  he 
had  carte  blanche  to  negotiate.  Indeed  the  situation  had 
become  so  critical  that  there  seemed  but  a  single  course 
to  pursue.  Three  of  the  French  armies  were  directly 
threatening  Germany,  and  the  Bavarian  Elector  held  the 
country  up  to  the  Inn,  and  had  seized  some  of  the  strong 
places  in  Upper  Austria.  If  effective  help  did  not  come 
from  the  allies  the  Emperor  was  lost.  Eugene  put  himself 
in  immediate  communication  with  Marlborough.  He  ex- 
plained that  the  Empire  could  do  nothing  in  the  Nether- 
lands, where  the  advances  of  the  enemy  threatened  its  very 
existence,  but  that  his  plans  might  be  baffled  by  antici- 
pating them  and  fighting  him  on  his  own  chosen  ground. 
Those  great  generals,  surveying  the  field  of  action,  had 
simultaneously  penetrated  the  French  designs  and  come  to 
identical  conclusions.     Marlborough  answered  Eugene  by  a 


134  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

march  which  took  him  over  the  Rhine  to  Heilbronn  on  the 
Neckar.  Thither  Eugene  rode  in  hot  haste,  and  it  was 
the  scene  of  the  memorable  meeting  which  had  such 
momentous  results.  They  were  to  act  in  the  meantime 
apart,  although  in  concert.  Eugene,  with  characteristic 
modesty  and  self-abnegation,  placed  himself  at  once  under 
the  orders  of  his  English  friend.  For  friends  they  were 
from  the  first.  Eugene  says,  "  We  sincerely  loved  and 
esteemed  each  other.  He  was  indeed  a  great  statesman 
and  general."  But  he  gives  a  curious  explanation  of  the 
circumstance  which  first  clenched  that  new  friendship,  as 
it  finally  cost  him  another.  He  had  given  Marlborough 
license  to  ravage  Bavaria  uncontrolled,  and  the  Bavarian 
Elector  was  naturally  "  furious." 

Few  battles  have  been  more  fiercely  contested  than 
Blenheim  or  Hochstadt.  Seldom  has  the  balance  swayed 
more  doubtfully  as  the  tide  of  battle  ebbed  or  flowed. 
Tallard  to  the  last  had  good  hopes  of  victory,  and  both  the 
allied  generals  risked  themselves  recklessly,  as  matter  of 
cool  calculation,  to  inspirit  their  shattered  battalions.  All 
four  of  the  leaders  had  their  reputations  at  stake  and  some- 
thing more.  Marlborough,  overriding  timid  counsels,  had 
marched  into  the  heart  of  Europe  with  lengthening  com- 
munications which  made  retreat  almost  impossible  in  the 
event  of  disaster.  Eugene,  in  bringing  him  thither,  had 
staked  his  credit  with  his  master  on  the  success  of  the 
grand  stroke.  Tallard,  with  his  many  enemies  at  Ver- 
sailles, had  been  as  eager  to  advance  as  either  of  his 
adversaries,  and  he  hazarded  as  much  as  they  on  the  issue 
of  the  battle.  As  for  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  he  had 
staked  everything  on  the  event.     Nor  did  the  soldiers  who 


PRINCE   EUGENE  135 

faced  each  other  in  the  hsts  need  much  inspiriting.  Marl- 
borough's men  had  bhnd  confidence  in  the  leader  who  had 
never  known  a  check,  and  in  almost  similar  case  were 
Tallard's  stubborn  veterans,  who  held  staunchly  to  their 
entrenchments  in  Hochstadt  till  they  were  enveloped  and 
practically  annihilated.  But  nowhere  along  the  line  was 
there  a  more  tremendous  shock  and  counter-shock  than 
where  Eugene  found  himself  opposed  to  the  Bavarians. 
Horse  and  foot,  the  Bavarians  were  in  a  white  heat  against 
the  invaders  who  had  sacked  tlieir  towns  and  burned  their 
homesteads.  Their  Elector  himself  headed  the  horse,  and 
Eugene  with  the  imperial  cavalry  scattered  before  them. 
He  pistolled  more  than  one  of  the  fugitives,  but  they  were 
panic-stricken  and  not  to  be  rallied.  Fortunately  he  had 
the  picked  Prussian  brigades  under  Leopold  of  Anhalt- 
Dessau  to  fall  back  upon.  Bavarians  and  Prussians  met 
in  close  grips,  and  it  was  then  that  Eugene  fought  like  a 
common  soldier,  having  more  than  one  miraculous  escape 
before  the  stolid  persistence  of  the  Brandenburg  veterans 
prevailed.  The  hard-won  victory  was  due  to  the  unre- 
mitting energy  and  vigilance  of  two  sympathetic  generals 
of  rare  penetration,  ever  ready  to  lend  each  other  assistance 
where  the  strain  was  most  severe.  "  I  was  under  the 
greatest  obligations  to  Marlborough,"  writes  Eugene,  "  for 
his  changes  in  the  dispositions  according  to  circumstances." 
Tallard  had  matter  for  sad  reflection  on  the  luck  of  war  ; 
twice,  he  wrote  in  his  despatches,  he  had  nearly  won  the 
battle,  and  twice  he  was  balked  by  misadventures  which 
could  neither  be  foreseen  nor  avoided.  Most  to  be  pitied 
was  the  unfortunate  Bavarian  Elector,  who  had  done 
through  the  battle  all  that  man  could  do.     He  saved  him- 


136  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

self  with  the  relics  of  his  gallant  regiments,  falling  back 
upon  Villeroi,  who  was  coming  up  too  late.  It  was  a 
mournful  greeting  he  gave  the  Marshal :  "I  have  sacrificed 
my  dominions  for  your  king,  and  now  I  am  ready  to  sacri- 
fice the  life  which  is  all  that  is  left  me." 

Marlborough  was  made  a  Duke,  and  a  Prince  of  the 
Empire.  "  Louis  of  Baden  and  I  went  to  amuse  ourselves 
at  Stuttgard."  But  away  from  his  books  or  his  cherished 
art-collections,  Eugene  was  restless  in  repose,  and  next 
spring  he  reminded  the  Emperor  that  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
who  had  become  thoroughly  Austrian,  had  been  brought  to 
the  brink  of  ruin.  "  Well,"  was  the  answer,  "  take  him 
reinforcements  and  the  command  in  Italy."  Eugene  knew 
his  man  and  made  his  bargain.  He  reminded  him  again  of 
the  extremities  to  which  he  had  been  reduced  in  previous 
Italian  campaigns.  He  got  his  troops,  with  the  promise  of 
their  being  punctually  paid,  but  saw  them  out  of  Vienna 
before  starting  himself.  It  was  then  he  made  the  memor- 
able march  when,  as  Mrs.  Christian  Davies — or  Defoe — 
remarks,  notwithstanding  all  Vendome  could  do  to  impede 
it,  "he  broke  through  all  the  obstacles  the  French  threw 
in  his  way,  and  subsisted  his  men  in  an  enemy's  country 
which  he  was  obliged  to  cross  ;  passed  several  large  rivers, 
and  in  thirty- four  marches  joined  the  Duke  of  Savoy " 
when  Turin  was  in  the  last  extremity.  The  battle  of 
Cassano,  at  the  bridge  over  the  Adda,  was  almost  as  bloody 
as  Blenheim.  He  and  Vendome  were  striving  to  outwit 
each  other.  "  I  had  been  informed  that  Vendome  took  a 
nap  in  the  afternoon,  from  which  no  one  durst  awake  him 
from  fear  of  putting  him  in  an  ill-humour."  Eugene  took' 
advantage  of  the  siesta  and  had  pierced  the  French  left 


PRINCE   EUGENE  137 

before  the  Duke  galloped  up  at  the  head  of  the  household 
troops.  Vendome  was  shot  in  the  boot,  Eugene  in  the 
neck  and  the  knee  ;  both  leaders  performed  prodigies  of 
valour,  but  it  was  pretty  much  a  drawn  battle.  Again  the 
Prince  does  his  enemy  justice.  "Not  to  be  beaten  by  such 
a  man  is  more  glorious  than  to  beat  another." 

The  following  summer  saw  the  famous  campaign  on  the 
Riviera,  when  he  had  been  made  a  lieutenant-general  and 
field-marshal.  He  dismisses  it  briefly  himself  as  without 
success,  though  his  advance  and  masterly  retreat  through 
the  mountains  added  greatly  to  his  fame. 

Then  again  his  campaigns  in  the  Netherlands  blend 
with  English  history  and  the  career  of  Marlborough.  In 
1708  he  was  busily  recruiting  for  the  Emperor.  He  met 
Marlborough  at  the  Hague  with  a  cordial  embrace,  and 
both  were  preoccupied  in  stimulating  the  zeal  of  the 
sluggish  Dutch  envoys,  promising  that  they  would  give  the 
enemy  immediate  battle  in  defence  of  the  strong  places  of 
the  frontier  barrier.  Then  Eugene  resumed  his  recruiting 
tour,  beating  up  for  reinforcements  from  the  Electors  and 
petty  princes.  Soon  he  had  gathered  an  army  at  Coblentz, 
and  the  original  understanding  had  been  that  he  should  act 
separately  on  the  Moselle.  The  plan  had  to  be  recon- 
sidered when  they  were  informed  of  the  superior  strength 
of  the  French,  who  could  operate  moreover  on  inner  lines, 
and  that  Berwick  was  on  the  march  from  Alsace  to  reinforce 
Vendome  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  A  hundred  thousand 
French  were  opposed  to  little  more  than  half  the  number 
under  Marlborough,  and  hastily  he  summoned  Eugene  to 
his  assistance.  He  found  Marlborough  encamped  between 
Brussels  and  Alost,  and  asked  on  the  moment  of  his  arrival 


138  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

if  he  did  not  mean  to  give  battle,  "  I  think  I  ought," 
was  Marlborough's  answer,  for  the  French  were  threatening 
the  important  fortress  of  Oudenarde,  and  its  fall  must  have 
a  depressing  effect  on  the  wavering  Dutch  allies.  The 
upshot  of  the  conference  was  the  great  and  bloody  and 
confused  battle,  which  should  have  been  decisive  could  they 
only  have  arrested  the  movements  of  the  sun  like  Joshua 
at  Ajalon.  Eugene,  though  he  had  come  without  any  of 
his  own  troops,  was  in  command  of  the  allied  right.  Much 
of  the  day  was  passed  in  manoeuvring,  misunderstandings, 
and  skirmishing,  till  the  Duke  of  Argyle  brought  up  the 
British  infantry,  to  be  followed  more  leisurely  by  the  Dutch 
battahons.  At  last  the  battle  was  aligned,  when  the  im- 
petuous Eugene  exclaimed  to  his  cooler  colleague,  "  And 
now  we  are  in  a  condition  to  fight."  Already  it  was  six  in 
the  evening,  with  but  three  hours  of  daylight.  The  battle 
became  general  along  the  line,  and  Eugene  says,  "  The 
spectacle  was  magnificent.  It  was  one  sheet  of  fire." 
Matters,  he  added,  were  going  ill  where  he  commanded,  when 
Marlborough  sent  a  reinforcement  of  eighteen  battalions, 
"  without  which  I  should  have  been  scarcely  able  to  hold 
my  ground."  Thus  reinforced,  he  drove  in  the  first  line, 
but  before  the  second  was  Vendome  on  foot,  with  pike  in 
hand,  showing  a  gallant  example  to  his  soldiers.  Before 
that  vigorous  resistance  Eugene  owns  he  would  have  failed, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  gallant  charge  of  Natzer  with  the 
Prussian  gendarmes,  who  broke  the  enemy's  line  and  won 
the  victory.  For  Eugene,  very  unlike  Napoleon,  never 
grudged  a  friend  or  an  inferior  the  full  credit  he  deserved. 
Meantime  the  centre  had  been  carried,  and  Marlborough 
had  been  making  his  way  on  the  left,  though  at  dearer 


PRINCE   EUGENE  139 

cost.  Behind  the  hedges  and  ditches,  the  French  house- 
hold troops,  who  had  been  held  in  reserve,  were  still  offering 
desperate  resistance,  till  Eugene,  as  he  says,  settled  the 
business  by  sending  a  detachment  by  a  great  circuit  to 
take  them  in  rear.  The  battle  became  a  rout  when  falling 
darkness  threw  a  curtain  over  the  fugitives  and  stopped 
the  pursuit. 

Feeling  sure  that  Marlborough  would  make  all  necessary 
arrangements  to  follow  up  the  success,  Eugene  went  next 
day  to  Brussels  to  visit  his  mother.  She  welcomed  him 
with  warm  congratulations  on  his  latest  acquisitions  of 
glory,  but  "  I  told  her  that,  as  at  Blenheim,  Marlborough's 
share  was  greater  than  my  own."  The  venerable  lady, 
always  rancorously  vindictive,  was  delighted  at  this  new 
humiliation  inflicted  on  her  old  lover.  "  The  fifteen  days 
which  I  passed  with  her  were  the  most  agreeable  of  my 
life,  and  we  parted  with  the  greater  pain  that  it  was 
probable  we  should  never  meet  again." 

When  he  returned  to  camp  he  found  that  his  troops 
from  the  Moselle  had  preceded  him.  He  says  that  it  was 
he  who  suggested  the  siege  of  Lille,  the  bulwark  of  French 
Flanders,  and  he  was  charged  with  its  conduct,  while 
Marlborough  was  to  command  the  covering  army.  "  The 
brave  and  skilful  Boufflers  cut  out  plenty  of  work  for  me." 
Two  assaults  were  repelled  "  with  horrible  carnage."  Five 
thousand  English  sent  by  Marlborough  to  repair  the  losses 
were  likewise  repulsed.  "  I  said  a  few  words  in  English 
to  those  brave  fellows  who  rallied  round  me  ;  I  led  them 
back  into  the  fire,  but  a  ball  below  the  left  eye  knocked 
me  senseless.  Everybody  thought  me  dead,  and  so  did  I. 
They  found  a  dung-cart,  in  which  I  was  carried  to  my 


HO  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

quarters  :  first  my  life  and  then  my  sight  was  despaired 
of."  Life  and  sight  being  saved,  he  returned  to  the  siege. 
On  the  22nd  September  the  resourceful  BoufHers,  having 
exhausted  every  method  of  defence,  offered  to  surrender 
the  town  unconditionally.  Eugene  promised  to  sign  any- 
thing he  should  propose.  "  '  This,  M.  le  Mar^chal,'  so  I 
wrote  to  him,  '  is  to  show  my  perfect  regard,  and  I  am 
sure  that  a  brave  man  like  you  will  not  abuse  it.  I  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  resistance.'  "  Boufflers  protracted 
the  defence  of  the  citadel,  but  the  citadel  had  to  capitulate 
in  turn.  The  Prince  signed  the  articles  the  Marshal  asked 
"  without  any  restriction,"  and  went  with  the  Prince  of 
Orange  to  pay  him  a  visit  in  the  battered  fortress.  Eugene 
was  persuaded  to  stay  for  supper — "  on  condition  that  it 
may  be  that  of  a  famished  citadel.  Roasted  horse-flesh 
was  set  before  us,  and  the  epicures  in  my  suite  were  far 
from  relishing  the  joke."  The  fall  of  Lille  was  followed 
by  that  of  Ghent  and  Bruges,  when  the  armies  went  into 
winter  quarters. 

The  Dutch,  who  had  hitherto  been  lukewarm,  were 
now  delighted,  and  the  generals  had  an  extraordinary  re- 
ception at  the  Hague.  "  It  was  nothing  but  a  succession 
of  honours  and  festivities  ;  presents  for  Marlborough  and 
fireworks  for  me."  The  tributes  paid  them  respectively 
sound  ironically  significant.  In  spring  they  were  in  the 
field  again  with  100,000  men,  pitted  against  the  same 
number  under  Villars.  They  decided  on  beginning  with 
the  siege  of  Tournai.  The  fortress  surrendered  "  after  the 
most  terrible  subterraneous  war  I  ever  witnessed."  Villars 
had  never  moved  for  the  relief.  "  '  Let  us  go  and  take 
Mons,'  said  I   to  Marlborough  ;    '  perhaps  this   devil  of  a 


PRINCE   EUGENE  141 

fellow  will  tire  of  being  so  cautious.'  "  That  was  agreed 
upon,  and  "  as  soon  as  our  troops  from  Tournai  had 
arrived,  '  Let  us  lose  no  time,'  said  I,  '  and  in  spite  of 
120,000  men  [for  Villars  had  been  reinforced  by  Boufflers], 
hedges,  villages,  triple  entrenchments,  abattis,  and  a 
hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  let  us  end  the  war  in  a  day.'  " 
Accordingly  the  battle  of  Malplaquet  was  decided  upon. 
A  dense  mist  on  the  morning  of  the  nth  of  September 
veiled  their  dispositions.  It  was  dispelled  at  eight  by  a 
general  discharge  of  the  guns.  Then  they  saw  Villars 
riding  down  the  ranks,  greeted  by  shouts  of  "  Vive  le  roi  et 
M.  de  Villars."  Eugene  advanced  to  the  attack  in  silence. 
He  says  his  English  Guards  were  scattered,  some  from 
excess  of  courage,  others  from  a  lack  of  it,  but  bringing 
up  his  German  battalions  he  rallied  them.  Even  then 
the  onslaught  would  have  been  beaten  back  had  it  not  been 
for  the  division  of  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  scaled  the 
parapets  of  the  second  entrenchments,  seizing  the  covering 
wood.  Eugene  was  again  hit  in  the  head,  and  lost  blood 
so  fast  that  those  about  him  urged  him  to  have  the  wound 
dressed.  "  If  I  am  beaten,"  he  said,  "  it  will  not  be  worth 
while  ;  if  the  French  win,  I  shall  have  plenty  of  time  for 
that."  We  hardly  see  the  logic,  but  it  marks  the  spirit 
of  the  man.  On  the  right  with  Eugene  all  was  going  well ; 
but  for  six  hours  Marlborough  had  found  it  hard  to  hold 
his  own  against  the  enemy's  right  and  centre.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  had  pushed  gallantly  to  the  front  and  planted 
a  flag  on  the  inner  entrenchment,  but  his  Dutch  for  the 
most  part  had  been  killed  or  wounded.  Eugene,  when  the 
stress  lightened  on  him,  sent  his  cavalry  to  his  colleagues' 
help,  but  they  were  met  and  overthrown  by  the  French 


142  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Household  Brigade,  who  were  broken  in  turn  by  the  fire 
of  some  flanking  batteries.  Nevertheless  Marlborough 
stubbornly  forged  ahead,  and  as  the  French  centre  was 
being  forced  back,  Eugene,  having  routed  their  left,  found 
it  easy  to  outflank  it.  "  Boufllers  rendered  the  same  ser- 
vice to  Villars  as  I  did  to  Marlborough,  and  when  he  saw 
him  fall  from  his  horse  dangerously  wounded  and  the 
battle  lost,  thought  of  nothing  but  making  the  first  retreat 
in  the  best  possible  order.  I  think  it  not  too  much  to 
estimate  the  loss  of  both  armies  at  40,000  ;  those  who  were 
not  killed  died  of  fatigue." 

The    three   succeeding    years    were    comparatively    un- 
eventful,  occupied  by  manoeuvring  and   occasional  sharp 
skirmishing   among   the   fortresses,    when   operations   were 
hampered  by  poKtical  complications.     The  war  in  the  Low 
Countries  ended  when,  in  March  171 3,  the  aUies  and  France 
signed    the   Treaty   of    Utrecht — with    an    important    ex- 
ception.    Leopold  was   dead,    Joseph   had   passed   like    a 
shadow,  and  Charles  now  filled  the  imperial  throne,  inflated 
with  pride  and  the  incarnation  of  obstinacy.     But  it  was 
with  the  assent  and  at  the  instigation  of  Eugene  that  the 
Emperor  declined   to  subscribe.     Eugene   pledged  himself 
that,  by  prolonging  the  war  on  the  Rhine,  he  would  keep 
the  French  in  check  there  and  obtain  neutrality  for  the 
Spanish  Netherlands.     Experience  should  have  taught  him 
that  he  promised  more  than  he  could  perform  ;    the  money 
came  in  by  driblets,  the  German  princes  hung  back,  and 
Villars,  always  on  the  alert,  was   pressing   him  with    far 
superior  forces.     He  lost  Landau  and  then  Freiburg,  when 
he  had  failed  to  hold  the  mountain  passes.     By  no  fault 
of  his,  he  protests,  but  "  '  Farewell  to  the  Empire  ;  farewell 


PRINCE   EUGENE  143 

to  its  two  bulwarks,'  was  the  cry  at  all  the  courts  of  Ger- 
many." "  The  title  of  Emperor,"  he  bitterly  adds,  "  does 
not  bring  a  man  or  a  single  kreutzer."  Louis,  weary  of 
the  war,  came  unexpectedly  to  his  relief  ;  after  the  Peace 
of  Utrecht  he  could  afford  to  make  the  first  advances,  and 
now  the  Emperor  was  not  unwilling  to  meet  him  half-way. 
Eugene  and  Villars  were  charged  with  the  negotiations,  and 
they  met  at  Rastadt,  in  peace  instead  of  battle.  There  is 
a  picturesque  and  humorous  account  in  the  Memoirs  of  the 
meeting  of  these  chivalrous  foes.  "  Villars  was  at  Rastadt 
first,  to  do  the  honours  of  the  place,  as  he  told  me,  and 
received  me  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs.  Never  did  men 
embrace  with  more  mihtary  sincerity,  and  I  may  add,  with 
more  esteem  and  attachment.  Our  juvenile  friendship 
when  companions  in  arms  in  Hungary,  and  our  intimacy 
in  Vienna  when  he  was  ambassador  there,  interrupted  by 
military  exploits  on  both  sides,  rendered  this  interview  so 
affecting  that  the  officers  and  men  of  the  escorts  also 
cordially  embraced."  In  the  talk  of  an  hour,  they  had 
settled  the  basis  of  the  treaty.  Couriers  were  sent  off  to 
secure  the  ratifications  of  their  masters.  "  Then,"  said 
Eugene,  "  while  we  are  waiting,  allow  me,  my  dear 
Marshal,  to  spend  the  Carnival  at  Stuttgard.  My  body 
needs  recreation,  but  for  these  two  years  past,  owing  to 
you,  my  mind  has  been  in  still  greater  need  of  it."  "  With 
all  my  heart,"  was  the  answer,  "  and  I  will  go  and  amuse 
myself  at  Strasburg."  Before  parting,  they  exchanged 
dances  and  banquets,  in  which  Eugene  admits  that  the 
Frenchmen  had  the  best  of  it.  And  they  freely  discussed 
the  qualities  of  their  respective  nations,  for  Eugene  seems 
by  this  time  to  have  forgotten  that  he  was  virtually  French. 


144  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Both  gave  the  rein  to  their  mordant  humour.  The  French 
marshal  did  not  scruple  to  ridicule  Madame  de  Maintenon, 
and  Eugene  laughed  at  the  plethora  of  empty  titles  assumed 
by  Charles  in  his  magniloquent  self-deification.  His  part- 
ing words  to  Villars  were,  "  We  shall  probably  fight  no 
more  battles  and  sign  no  more  treaties  together,  but  we 
shall  never  cease  to  love  and  esteem  each  other."  It  was 
at  the  Swiss  Baden  that  the  Treaty  of  Baden  had  been 
signed. 

Neither  had  any  regret  for  Queen  Anne,  who  died  before 
the  signatures,  but  when  Louis  the  Great  followed  her 
next  year,  Eugene  paid  him  a  generous  tribute.  The  old 
griefs  and  insults  were  all  forgotten.  The  death  "  pro- 
duced the  same  effect  on  me  as  the  fall  of  an  old  stately 
oak  uprooted  by  a  tempest.  He  had  stood  so  long  !  Death, 
before  it  erases  great  recollections,  revives  them  all  in  the 
first  moment.  History  is  indulgent  to  princes.  That  of 
the  great  monarch  needed  no  indulgence  ;  but  age  had 
blunted  the  talons  of  the  lion.  A  regency  was  destined  to 
give  us  time  to  breathe.  But  then  a  circumstance  occurred 
which  cut  out  plenty  of  work  for  us  again." 

Eugene  and  Villars  had  been  discussing  the  Turks. 
"  Are  they  as  stupid  as  in  my  time,  when  I  began  to 
admire  you,  Monseigneur  ?  "  asked  the  Marshal.  "  They 
have  never  changed  their  system  and  they  never  will," 
answered  Eugene  ;  "  nevertheless  they  might  turn  it  to 
good  account."  And  he  explained  how  if  they  were  to 
change  their  order  of  battle,  when  advancing  with  their 
Spahis  on  their  wings,  and  "  their  accursed  shouts  of  Allah  ! 
Allah  !  "  they  might  be  invincible.  When  discussing  them 
quietly  he  did  not  foresee  how  soon  he  was  to  have  another 


PRINCE   EUGENE  145 

opportunity  of  testing  their  tactics,  and  how  nearly  they 
were  to  crush  the  victor  of  so  many  campaigns,  notwith- 
standing their  antiquated  methods  of  fighting. 

For  if  he  had  hoped  for  a  spell  of  rest  he  was  doomed 
to  disappointment.  Nor  had  he  even  time  to  assume  the 
Governor-Generalship  of  the  Netherlands  which  had  been 
conferred  on  him.  The  Sultan  had  declared  war  with 
Venice  and  sent  an  army  to  the  Morea.  To  the  Emperor 
he  was  full  of  peaceful  professions,  but  Charles  was  wise 
enough  to  know  that  it  was  his  interest  to  ally  himself 
with  the  menaced  republic  against  the  hereditary  enemy. 
The  answer  of  the  Grand  Vizier  to  the  imperial  rebuff  was 
to  levy  a  second  great  army  and  to  set  it  on  the  march  for 
the  imperial  frontiers.  Count  Palffy,  then  in  command  in 
Hungary,  concentrated  at  Peterwardein.  At  midsummer 
of  1715  Eugene  hastened  thither ;  there  he  learned  that 
the  Vizier  was  already  in  the  vicinity  of  Belgrade  with 
200,000  men,  and  that  supports  were  coming  up  fast.  The 
Turks  crossed  the  Save,  and  by  the  ist  of  August  had 
entrenched  themselves  at  Carlowitz  on  the  Danube. 
Eugene  sent  Palffy  forward  to  reconnoitre  with  two  or  three 
cavalry  regiments  and  a  handful  of  infantry.  He  had 
orders  not  to  be  drawn  into  an  action,  but  with  the  swarms 
of  the  Turkish  irregular  horse,  action  was  often  inevitable. 
Enveloped  in  front  and  on  the  flanks,  he  fought  it  out,  and 
set  the  crown  that  day  on  a  brilliant  career  by  bringing  the 
remnants  of  his  little  force  within  the  lines  of  Peterwardein. 
It  was  the  prelude  to  the  great  battle  fought  by  Eugene 
a  few  days  after.  The  Turks  were  always  gathering 
strength,  and  he  decided  to  attack  them  in  their  formidable 

works,   against   the   opinion   of    his    best   generals.       The 

K 


146  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

battle  illustrates  the  invariable  fashions  of  the  time  in 
making  war.  Eugene  often  remarks  on  the  Turkish  custom 
of  immediately  entrenching  themselves,  but  like  all  his 
contemporaries  he  made  as  much  use  of  the  spade  himself. 
Here,  however,  he  had  been  spared  the  trouble,  for  advanc- 
ing to  Carlowitz,  he  occupied  entrenchments  which  had  been 
thrown  up  by  Caprara  two  and  twenty  years  before.  So 
two  field  fortifications  were  facing  each  other,  both  heavily 
armed  with  guns.  Eugene  adapted  his  tactics  to  the 
Turkish  formation,  forced  upon  them  by  the  contour  of 
their  camp.  He  sums  up  the  action  in  a  few  lines.  His 
right  wing,  thrown  into  disorder  by  the  narrow  outlets 
from  the  works,  was  broken  before  it  had  time  to  re-form  ; 
his  centre  was  shaken  by  the  Turkish  fire,  which  paved  the 
way  for  the  tremendous  onslaught  of  the  Janissaries  ;  but 
meantime  his  left,  under  the  Prince  of  Wiirtemberg,  carry- 
ing all  before  it,  had  turned  the  Turkish  right.  He  launched 
Palffy  with  2000  horse  on  the  cavalry  in  the  rear  of  the 
hitherto  victorious  Janissaries.  They  looked  back  to  see 
the  scattering  of  the  Spahis— they  saw,  too,  that  the  key  of 
the  position  was  lost ;  the  Grand  Vizier  himself  had  fallen 
at  the  foot  of  the  sacred  standard  ;  and  then  sullenly  retiring, 
retreat  was  turned  to  flight.  Before  noon  the  five-hours 
battle  had  been  lost  and  won,  and  the  field  was  abandoned. 
Great  was  the  booty,  for  in  the  sudden  rout  and  panic 
nothing  was  saved.  "  I  entered  the  tent  of  the  Grand 
Vizier,  and  there  the  chaplains  of  the  nearest  regiments 
in  a  loud  voice  returned  thanks  to  the  God  of  armies  in 
prayers  repeated  by  the  soldiers."  The  victory  caused  a 
joyful  sensation  in  Christendom.  The  Pope  sent  a  conse- 
crated hat  and  sword,  and  Marshal  Villars  a  letter  of  warm 


PRINCE   EUGENE  147 

congratulation.  Strangely  enough,  Eugene  makes  no  men- 
tion of  the  terrible  storm  which  burst  upon  his  troops 
while  taking  up  their  positions,  tore  the  floating  mills  from 
their  moorings,  driving  them  against  the  boat-bridges, 
and,  by  delaying  the  passage  of  the  columns,  threatened 
to  upset  his  combinations. 

Other  operations  followed,  but  winter  was  coming  on, 
and  all  was  only  the  prelude  to  the  great  siege  of  1717. 
Eugene  prepared  for  it  by  a  tax  laid  on  the  Empire,  which 
he  counterbalanced,  as  he  claims,  by  openings  for  commerce 
which  no  one  else  would  have  dreamed  of.  But  in  his 
preparations  for  the  war  he  spent  lavishly,  and  there,  as 
he  admits,  the  Jews  got  the  better  of  him.  He  was  set 
upon  the  capture  of  Belgrade,  which  for  three  centuries, 
as  he  says,  had  been  a  constant  bone  of  contention.  The 
news  of  the  Crusade  drew  princely  and  noble  adventurers 
to  his  standard  from  all  the  countries  of  Europe.  Bavaria 
was  again  in  alliance  with  the  Empire,  and  the  Elector  sent 
his  two  sons  to  the  camp.  The  new  Grand  Vizier  was  a 
more  formidable  antagonist  than  his  hot-headed  predecessor, 
and  Eugene  remarks  that  "  he  cost  me  a  deal  of  trouble." 
On  the  loth  of  June  he  crossed  the  Danube,  his  volunteer 
princes  tumbling  into  the  boats  that  they  might  be  the 
first  over  to  cross  swords  with  the  Spahis.  On  the  19th 
Eugene  himself  had  a  narrow  escape  from  their  light  horse- 
men, when  reconnoitring  the  ground  for  his  camp. 

Belgrade  is  in  the  angle  between  the  meeting  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Save.  Where  it  faces  westward  it  is  in  the 
form  of  an  amphitheatre.  So  the  hues  of  the  Imperialists 
corresponded  in  shape  of  a  crescent,  one  horn  resting  on 
the  Danube,  the  other  on  the  Save,  and  each  communicating 


148  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

with  the  opposite  bank  by  a  boat-bridge  which  was  guarded 
by  a  heavily-armed  redoubt.  The  camp  lay  between  double 
lines  of  contravallation  and  of  circumvallation,  for  sorties 
from  the  fortress  were  an  imminent  danger,  and  the  Vizier's 
relieving  army,  much  magnified  of  course  by  rumour,  was 
known  to  be  on  the  march.  The  bridges  were  further 
protected  by  a  flotilla  of  so-called  frigates.  The  fortress 
mounted  100  guns,  besides  those  on  shallow  boats  which 
were  practically  floating  batteries,  and  Eugene  had  in- 
voluntarily strengthened  the  garrison  by  driving  in  an 
outlying  corps  of  infantry.  There  were  known  to  be  ample 
supplies  of  food  and  ammunition,  and  everything  foreboded 
a  protracted  defence  had  no  succour  been  at  hand.  Even 
with  a  weaker  garrison  the  place  was  eminently  defensible. 
The  citadel  towered  above  the  lower  town  ;  two  suburbs 
were  embraced  in  the  fortified  enceinte,  with  gardens  and 
enclosures  that  were  so  many  earthworks,  and  all  of  them 
swept  by  the  batteries  above.  The  Governor,  known  for 
a  gallant  veteran,  had  30,000  seasoned  soldiers.  Eugene's 
venture  seemed  the  desperate  one  it  proved,  but  he  had 
reckoned  with  his  knowledge  of  the  Turks.  The  Turks 
behind  walls  were  little  given  to  the  initiative,  and  perhaps 
the  commandant  was  the  more  supine  that  he  counted 
confidently  on  speedy  relief.  The  besiegers  were  little 
troubled  by  sorties,  and  there  was  only  one  of  any  conse- 
quence. That  was  when  the  commandant  woke  up  to  the 
fact  that  Eugene  had  broken  ground  beyond  the  Save, 
whence  he  could  bombard  the  town  on  the  slopes  of  the 
amphitheatre.  From  the  heights  the  enemy  could  see  all 
that  went  on.  He  knew  that  the  imperial  batteries  in 
embryo  were  isolated  by  marshes,  both  from  the  camp  and 


PRINCE   EUGENE  149 

from  the  town  of  Semlin  behind.  Under  cover  of  night  the 
Turks  shpped  across  the  river,  bringing  hght  field-pieces  with 
them.  Their  rush  came  as  a  complete  surprise  ;  except 
the  few  who  had  time  to  bolt  not  a  man  escaped.  The 
Turks  cleared  the  trenches  and  were  gone  before  any  help 
could  come,  and  their  boats  were  ballasted  with  the  heads 
of  the  fallen.  The  "  Old  Campaigner  "  tells  us  that  then 
there  was  a  ducat  set  on  every  Christian  head,  which  fired 
the  fanaticism  of  a  soldiery  whose  pay  was  invariably  in 
arrear. 

Time  was  pressing,  and  the  Prince,  though  he  puts  a 
smiling  face  on  it,  must  have  had  many  an  anxious  hour. 
On  the  22nd  of  July  he  writes,  "  I  bombarded,  burned,  and 
battered  down  the  city  at  such  a  rate  that  it  must  have 
capitulated  had  it  not  been  for  the  expected  approach  of 
the  Grand  Vizier."  In  fact,  within  a  week  his  advanced 
parties  made  their  appearance.  On  August  ist  the  semi- 
circle of  hills  was  crowned  by  the  Mussulman  host,  "  a 
charming  view  for  a  painter  but  a  most  execrable  one  for 
a  general."  Eugene  had  been  hard  at  work  on  his  outer 
lines  of  circumvallation.  The  Turks,  as  was  their  custom, 
began  immediately  to  entrench  themselves,  and  now  the 
besieger  had  become  the  besieged,  held  fast  as  in  a  vice 
between  the  lines  of  his  enemies.  There  were  30,000  in 
Belgrade  ;  there  were  200,000  with  the  Vizier  at  the  lowest 
calculation.  Allowing  for  those  on  detachment  duty  and 
for  the  fever  and  dysentery  which  had  filled  the  hospitals, 
he  had  barely  50,000  valid  soldiers  under  his  hand.  Eugene 
was  himself  prostrated  by  the  fever.  He  was  compelled 
to  defer  the  attack  he  had  meditated,  but  meantime  "  our 
condition  was  daily  growing  worse"  ;  and  he  adds,  "  I  must 


I50  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

needs  think  they  were  rather  uneasy  at  Court,  in  the  city, 
and  even  in  my  own  army."  Heavily  bombarded  from 
both  sides,  the  sick  leader  had  to  shift  his  tent  continually, 
and  each  hour  he  was  losing  men  by  the  score,  either  by 
gun-fire  or  dysentery.  Nevertheless  he  says,  "  My  princes 
loved  me  like  a  father."  For  once  there  was  advantage  in 
an  army  made  up  of  corps  from  different  countries.  A 
generous  rivalry  was  stimulated,  and  all  were  eager  for 
opportunities.  Yet  all  were  alive  to  the  impending  crisis. 
"  Eugene  alone,"  says  one  of  his  officers,  "  remained  un- 
moved ;  "  he  was  confident  his  chance  would  come,  and 
waited  for  the  moment  of  action.  Nor  could  it  be  long 
deferred,  though  meantime  the  pressure  from  without  urged 
him  to  fresh  efforts.  He  stormed  outlying  works,  he  opened 
new  parallels,  and  as  a  consequence  blocked  the  garrison 
closely  within  their  walls. 

He  had  expected  that  the  Vizier  would  deliver  an  im- 
mediate onslaught.  But  the  Turks  had  learned  caution 
from  the  tremendous  defeats  he  had  inflicted  on  them,  and 
now  they  adopted  more  deliberate  methods.  Under 
direction  of  renegade  engineers,  they  made  elaborate  pre- 
parations for  the  storm  of  his  camp,  till  they  had  actually 
pushed  their  last  parallels  within  gunshot.  No  one  of  the 
defenders  dared  show  his  head  without  being  the  mark  for 
a  shower  of  bullets.  From  gunshot  the  parallels  were 
advanced  to  pistol-fire,  and  showers  of  bursting  shells  each 
night  were  making  the  Christian  positions  almost  untenable. 
The  Prince  had  waited  long  for  the  opening  which  had 
never  been  offered.  On  the  15th  of  August  he  summoned 
a  council,  and  "  in  spite  of  the  bad  advice  of  people  who 
are  not  fond  of  war,  I  determined  upon  an  engagement." 


PRINCE   EUGENE  151 

Everything  was  arranged  for  a  nocturnal  attack.  The 
troops  were  to  fall  into  order  before  dark,  that  there  might 
be  as  httle  confusion  as  possible.  There  were  four  openings 
through  which  they  were  to  issue,  so  as  to  deploy  in  the 
cramped  space  between  the  lines,  and  the  cavalry  from  the 
extreme  right  and  left  were  to  act  upon  the  Turkish  flanks 
when  the  central  attack  was  being  pushed  home.  The 
cavalry  found  their  passage  obstructed  by  unexpected 
obstacles,  and  so  there  was  delay  and  confusion.  The  day 
was  already  breaking  before  all  the  infantry  had  left  their 
entrenchments.  It  seemed  that  discovery  was  sure  and 
destruction  inevitable  when  Christendom  was  spared  a 
crushing  catastrophe  by  what  was  piously  regarded  as  a 
miracle.  For  the  first  time  for  many  mornings  the  scene 
of  action  was  enveloped  in  a  dense  fog.  It  not  only  con- 
cealed movements  from  the  Turkish  sentinels  but  smothered 
sounds.  The  enemy  had  fancied  something  was  passing 
behind  the  imperial  works,  and  opened  a  tremendous  fire. 
Shot  and  shell  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  stormers,  leaving 
them  almost  unscathed.  When  the  fog  lifted  and  the  sun 
blazed  out,  the  stormers  were  already  rushing  the  hostile 
parapets.  Eugene  admits  that  there  was  little  to  choose 
between  the  confusion  on  either  side,  and  so  it  became  a 
sort  of  Inkerman — a  soldier's  battle.  He  gives  chief  credit  for 
the  winning  of  the  day  to  La  Colonic,  "the  Old  Campaigner," 
and  his  Bavarians,  confirming  all  that  La  Colonic  tells  us 
in  his  chronicles.  The  Bavarians,  ignoring  orders  from  in- 
ferior generals  to  halt  and  dress  the  line,  in  four  long  hours 
fought  their  way  from  trench  to  trench,  till  they  stormed  the 
great  oval  entrenchment,  the  key  of  the  enemy's  position, 
and   turned   its   cannon   on   the  flying  Turks.       The   first 


152  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

intimation  of  the  change  of  the  direction  of  the  guns  was  a 
shot  sent  into  a  group  surrounding  the  Grand  Vizier,  which 
dropped  three  of  the  number.  Their  prompt  retreat  was 
imitated  by  all  the  horse  and  foot  within  sight.  The 
Bavarian  Electoral  Prince  fell  on  La  Colon ie's  neck,  and 
Eugene  galloped  up  with  his  tactful  compliments.  All  was 
over  by  eleven  o'clock.  Fair  terms  were  granted  to  the 
Belgrade  garrison,  which  they  had  earned  by  their  abstention 
from  all  interference  with  the  action. 

In  fact  there  is  a  good  deal  that  is  suggestive  in  Eugene's 
report  of  his  reception  in  Vienna.  He  says  that  the 
Emperor  agreed  with  the  devout  who  ascribed  his  success 
to  a  miracle,  and  that  Stahrenberg  was  the  mouthpiece 
of  the  envious  who  attributed  it  to  pure  luck.  Not  only 
was  the  fog  a  most  providential  interposition,  but  the  in- 
action of  the  governor  Mustapha,  renowned  as  a  good 
soldier,  is  incomprehensible.  Had  he  co-operated  with  his 
30,000  men  at  the  critical  moment.  General  Viard,  who  was 
left  with  but  5000  to  hold  the  lines,  could  never  have  made 
head  against  him.  And  it  was  well  the  great  battle  came 
off  when  it  did,  for  strong  Turkish  reinforcements  were 
rapidly  advancing,  and  one  of  the  imperial  generals  had 
faltered  at  their  approach. 

Eugene  rested  on  his  laurels  for  sixteen  years.  He 
honestly  owns  that,  being  "  fond  of  war,"  he  regretted  the 
conciliatory  dispositions  of  the  Sultan  and  the  Emperor. 
For  those  sixteen  years  he  amused  himself  in  his  palace, 
passing  much  of  the  time  in  the  library,  which  contained 
many  rare  and  curious  volumes.  But  in  1733,  with  the 
death  of  Augustus,  Elector  of  Saxony  and  King  of  Poland, 
there  was  another  disputed  succession  with  a  call  to  arms. 


PRINCE   EUGENE  153 

The  French  were  again  in  the  field,  for  France  and  the 
Emperor  supported  rival  candidates.  The  aged  Villars  was 
sent  to  Italy,  while  a  powerful  army  under  the  Duke  of 
Berwick  prepared  to  pass  the  Rhine.  Eugene,  war-lover 
as  he  was,  reminded  his  master  that  he  had  neither  army 
nor  allies,  but  the  Emperor  turned  a  deaf  ear.  Tauntingly, 
perhaps,  as  Eugene  hints,  he  offered  him  the  command  of 
what  troops  there  were,  in  the  expectation  that  he  would 
dechne.  If  so,  he  was  disappointed.  Eugene  repeats  that 
he  was  fond  of  war,  and  was  wilhng  besides  to  court  the 
fate  that  had  befallen  the  great  Turenne  and  was  soon  to 
overtake  Berwick.  He  was  at  Heilbronn  before  the  end  of 
April.  He  was  touched  to  the  heart  by  the  greeting  of  his 
old  soldiers,  who  received  him  with  shouts  of  "  Long  live 
our  father !  "  and  the  tossing  of  hats  by  thousands  in  the 
air.  The  result  of  the  roll-call  was  less  satisfactory,  for 
he  found  he  had  no  sort  of  strength  to  face  the  forces  of 
Berwick.  He  boasts  that  with  numbers  of  one  to  three 
he  forced  Berwick  to  confine  himself  to  the  siege  of  Philipps- 
burg.  It  was  an  unlucky  siege  for  the  French  Marshal,  who 
had  his  head  carried  away  by  a  cannon-ball,  though  Eugene 
envied  his  glorious  end.  Nor  did  the  Prince  gain  by  the 
change  of  commanders.  He  found  d'Asfeldt,  as  he  says, 
"  a  devil  of  a  fellow,  who  had  all  his  wits  about  him."  He 
was  compelled  to  abandon  the  lines  of  Philippsburg  and 
to  look  on  helplessly  at  the  fall  of  the  fortress.  Meantime, 
however,  reinforcements  had  been  coming  up,  and  with 
them,  as  usual,  the  young  princes  and  nobles,  who  came 
to  school  under  the  famous  master  of  war.  Among  these 
was  the  Prince  Royal  of  Prussia,  the  future  Frederick  the 
Great,  "  who  appeared  a  young  man  of  infinite  promise." 


154  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Reinforced  and  in  no  unfavourable  position,  Eugene  has 
been  severely  criticised  for  not  risking  a  battle.     Had  it 
been  the  Eugene  of  the  march  to  Turin  or  of  Zenta,  it  is 
more  than  probable  he  might  have  done  so  and  had  reason 
to  regret  it.     But  with  years  and  experience  had  come  a 
grave  sense  of  responsibility,  and  his  own  defence  seems 
incontestable — "  The  first  that  attacked  must  have  been 
beaten,  and  had  that  been  my  lot,  the  French  might  have 
gone  to  Vienna,  for  there  was  no  fortified  place  on  the  way. 
There  was  no  Sobieski  then   to  save  the  capital."     The 
campaign  ended  with  cautious  manoeuvring  on  both  sides, 
and  next  year  saw  the  signature  of  a  peace  at  Eugene's 
urgent  instigation.     Fond  as  he  may  have  been  of  war, 
he    heartily    congratulated    the    Emperor    on    having    got 
creditably  out  of  "  such  an  awkward  scrape."     He  might 
have  had  greater  political  influence  at  Court,  had  he  not 
invariably  spoken  his  mind  with  the  bluntness  of  a  soldier. 
He  saw  the  signing  of  the   peace   in  the  autumn  and 
he  only  survived  till  the  spring.     If  he  did  not  fall  in  battle 
as  he  desired,  his  death  was  as  sudden  as  it  was  painless 
and  easy.     He  dropped  his  cards  one  evening,  complaining 
of  indisposition.     Taken  home,  he  was  put  to  bed,  and  was 
found  dead  in  the  morning.     Napoleon,  who  in  a  double 
sense  followed  in  his  footsteps,  has  assigned  him  the  highest 
rank  among  generals  of  genius. 


V        VI 

MARSHAL    KEITH 

James  Keith  was  a  youth  of  eighteen  when  his  cousin,  the 
Earl  of  Mar,  raised  the  white  standard  in  his  forest  of 
Braemar.  It  was  an  unhappy  beginning  to  a  brilhant 
career.  Like  the  Earl  of  Derwentwater,  the  Earl  Marischal 
and  his  brother  were  almost  constrained  to  turn  rebels  in 
the  '15.  There  was  not  only  their  near  kinship  to  Mar, 
who,  as  a  chronicler  of  the  time  very  truly  remarked,  would 
turn  cat-in-the-pan  with  any  man,  but  their  mother,  a 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Perth,  the  persecuting  Chancellor 
of  James  VII.,  was  by  birth  and  upbringing  a  fanatical 
Jacobite.  The  ballad  of  "  Lady  Keith's  Lament "  was 
said  to  have  been  her  own  composition,  though  more  pro- 
bably it  was  a  forgery  by  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  At  any 
rate  it  expressed  her  feelings,  when  it  breathes  the  hope 
that  she  would  be  Lady  Keith  again  when  her  rightful 
King  came  back  over  the  water.  The  young  Earl,  a  sensible 
man,  weighing  the  political  chances  dispassionately,  was 
inclined  to  accept  the  Hanoverian  dynasty.  When  the 
Dukes  of  Somerset  and  Argyle,  by  a  happy  coup  d^e'tat, 
carried  the  wavering  Council  along  with  them,  the  summary 
proceedings  against  all  suspected  of  disloyalty  alienated 
many   hesitating   trimmers.     When   Mar,   as   a  matter   of 

necessity,  was  dismissed  from  his  Secretaryship  of  State, 

155 


156  SOLDIERS  OF  FORTUNE 

his  cousin  Marischal  was  deprived  of  his  troop  of  the 
Guards.  Hurrying  down  to  Scotland  in  high  indignation, 
he  met  his  brother,  then  on  his  way  to  town  to  ask  for  a 
pair  of  colours.  In  that  meeting  James  Keith's  fate  was 
decided,  and  England  lost  a  great  soldier,  as  France  had 
foolishly  got  rid  of  Prince  Eugene.  But  the  Marshal  never 
turned  his  sword  against  the  country  which  had  given 
him  birth. 

The  brothers  both  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  though 
often  parted,  remained  fondly  attached.  The  elegy  by  the 
elder  when  he  heard  of  his  brother's  glorious  death  speaks 
volumes  for  both.  He  wrote  to  his  intimate  friend  d'Alem- 
bert,  "  My  brother  leaves  me  a  noble  legacy.  Last  year 
he  had  Bohemia  at  ransom,  and  his  personal  estate  is 
seventy  ducats."  The  Marshal  only  once  saw  his  native 
land  again,  when  he  had  sundry  friendly  conversations 
with  George  II.  The  Earl  returned,  but  not  in  the  cir- 
cumstances his  mother  had  fondly  predicted.  Realising 
that  the  recall  of  the  Stewarts  was  hopeless,  he  had  made 
his  peace  with  the  Hanoverian  Court,  and  was  able  to  send 
Lord  Chatham  from  Madrid  a  piece  of  invaluable  informa- 
tion. The  grateful  King  received  him  graciously,  and  he 
was  able  to  buy  back  a  part  of  his  ancestral  domains.  But 
the  old  exile  saw  the  North  again  with  sinking  of  the  heart. 
He  passed  Stonehaven,  where  his  sea-girt  fortress  of 
Dunnottar  was  in  ruin,  and  found  his  second  stronghold 
of  Iverugie  in  Buchan  in  little  better  case.  He  had  little 
cause  to  complain  of  lack  of  warmth  in  his  welcome. 
Friends,  neighbours,  and  tenants  crowded  to  meet  him  at 
Peterhead,  and  he  headed  the  long  and  jubilant  procession 
which  set    out    for   Inverugie.     The   castle   stands   on    an 


MARSHAL   KEITH  157 

eminence  encircled  by  the  sweep  of  the  Ugie.  When  he 
saw  the  roofless  wreck  of  the  old  halls  that  had  sheltered 
him  as  a  boy,  the  aged  Earl  fairly  broke  down  upon  the 
bridge  ;  he  drew  rein,  and  unable  to  restrain  his  tears, 
sadly  turned  his  horse's  head  to  the  South  again.  He  had 
seen  much  of  life  at  most  of  the  courts  of  Europe,  except 
that  of  the  Empire.  But  Berlin  was  naturally  the  city  of 
his  predilections,  for  there  he  was  petted,  courted,  and 
feted.  He  made  many  a  friend  among  statesmen  and  the 
elite  of  the  literary  and  intellectual  world,  but  the  strongest 
proof  of  his  amiable  and  fascinating  nature  is  that  he  seems 
to  have  been  the  only  man  who  really  won  the  affections  of 
the  cold-hearted  Frederick.  His  brother,  the  Marshal,  was 
highly  valued,  and  could  take  liberties  that  few  other  men 
dared  venture  upon.  But  for  the  senior  the  penurious 
monarch  would  have  drawn  his  purse-strings  more  freely 
than  the  Earl's  pride  would  permit  ;  he  was  recalled  to 
Potsdam  in  his  seventy-fourth  year  by  the  pressing  appeals 
of  his  royal  friend  ;  he  found  a  villa  ready  for  him  and 
royally  furnished,  and  there  he  ended  his  days  in  peace. 

The  careers  of  the  brothers  were  so  often  intermixed  ; 
their  characters  in  many  respects  were  so  similar,  though 
the  Earl  had  no  pretension  to  the  Marshal's  talent  and 
decision,  that  a  shght  biographical  sketch  of  the  one  was 
indispensable  as  a  prelude  to  the  story  of  the  other.  We 
can  only  gather  impressions  of  the  Earl  at  second-hand  ; 
the  Marshal  has  left  a  memoir  so  interesting,  that  our 
regret  is  that  it  ends  with  tantalising  abruptness.  It  is 
written  in  the  simple,  straightforward,  soldierly  style,  in 
which  the  Seigneur  de  Joinville  described  the  romantic 
crusade  of  St.  Louis  ;  so  it  is  all  the  better,  and  in  a  minor 


158  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

key  it  is  almost  as  rich  in  romance.  The  rebelHon  of  the  '15 
and  the  rash  adventure  of  the  saint  were  equally  unlucky, 
though  the  one  was  carried  out  with  ample  means  and  the 
mediaeval  pomp  of  chivalry,  and  the  other  at  haphazard  by 
disappointed  politicians  and  desperate  men  who  missed  all 
the  chances  that  fortune  offered  them.  The  Marshal  in  the 
memoir  looks  back  with  a  soldier's  eye  on  the  drama  in 
which  he  played  a  modest  part ;  he  does  not  spare  criticism 
of  his  superiors,  and  remarks  freely  on  their  strategy  and 
blundering  tactics.  Of  much  of  what  he  describes  he  was  an 
eye-witness,  and  the  facts  within  his  personal  knowledge 
are  reliable,  for  the  Marshal  was  an  honest  man. 

Of  his  cousin  the  Duke  of  Mar — he  gives  him  his  St. 
Germains  title — he  had  no  high  opinion.  He  did  not  trust 
him,  and  hints  that  throughout  he  was  playing  the  political 
game  for  his  own  hand.  Mar  was  so  ignorant  that  he 
looked  for  the  duchy  of  Deux  Fonts  in  a  map  of  Hungary, 
which  reminds  one  of  the  jubilation  of  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle, the  head  of  the  Ministry,  at  discovering  that  Cape 
Breton  was  an  island.  But  the  Jacobite  party  was 
numerous,  discontent  was  great,  and  Keith  thinks  the 
enterprise  might  have  ended  differently  had  it  found  a 
more  capable  chief,  and  been  planned  with  ordinary  dis- 
cretion. As  it  was,  it  was  common  talk  that  there  was  to 
be  trouble  from  the  Highlands,  and  the  King  and  his 
counsellors  had  ample  warning.  "  The  Earl  of  Portmore, 
an  old  experienced  officer,  who  had  commanded  the  English 
army  in  Portugal,"  offered  to  go  with  Mar  to  Scotland, 
but  as  his  military  rank  and  experience  must  have 
given  him  the  command,  through  Mar's  jealousy  he  was 
left  behind.     In  place  of  him  the  Earl  brought  General 


MARSHAL   KEITH  159 

Hamilton  as  his  second  in  command — brave  enough,  but 
old,  infirm,  and  incompetent — who  miscarried  so  lamentably 
at  Sheriffmuir. 

Mar  came  with  neither  men,  arms,  nor  money,  but  with 
fallacious  promises  in  plenty.  There  was  great  and  con- 
tagious enthusiasm  among  the  Highlanders  at  the  Hunting  ; 
they  were  men  who  set  small  store  by  their  lives,  and 
rejoiced  in  the  prospect  of  pillaging  the  Lowlands.  There 
were  not  a  few  nobles  of  ancient  hneage  at  the  muster, 
and  some  who  might  have  commanded  a  large  following. 
But  it  was  significant  that  the  Dukes  of  Gordon  and  Atholl, 
following  the  good  old  Scottish  fashion  of  hedging,  had 
prudently  stayed  at  home,  sending  their  heirs  to  represent 
them.  It  might  have  been  foreseen  that,  in  the  event  of 
any  serious  check,  the  retreat  would  have  been  sounded 
for  Gordons  and  Murrays.  Most  of  the  peers  were  men  of 
broken  fortunes,  with  lands  mortgaged  to  the  last  acre,  who 
had  little  to  lose.  Nevertheless  there  were  generous  excep- 
tions. The  Earl  of  Panmure,  who  proclaimed  King  James 
at  Brechin,  had  large,  unencumbered  estates,  and  the  young 
Earl  of  Strathmore,  like  the  Earl  Marischal,  hazarded  lands 
which  pelded  a  handsome  income.  Amid  all  the  bustle  of 
hasty  preparation  came  the  news  of  King  Louis'  death, 
and  nothing  should  have  been  more  discouraging.  Had 
they  cared  to  look  facts  in  the  face,  they  might  have  known 
that  the  astute  English  Ambassador,  the  Earl  of  Stair,  was 
persona  gratissima  with  the  Regent,  but  they  succeeded  in 
befooling  themselves  into  believing  that  the  voluptuous  but 
politic  d'Orleans  would  befriend  them.  Indeed  the  leaders 
who  had  committed  themselves  had  gone  too  far  to  draw 
back,    and    the    ill-armed    and    undisciplined    levies    were 


i6o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

already  on  their  southward  march.  "  By  the  beginnmg  of 
October  we  had  assembled  about  5000  foot  and  1200  horse. 
The  enemy  lay  at  Stirling  under  the  command  of  the  Duke 
of  Argyle,  and  were  about  1000  foot  and  800  horse,  en- 
camped under  the  cannon  of  the  castle,  where  they  could 
not  be  attacked."  They  could  not  be  attacked,  but  they 
might  have  been  turned,  for  Argyle  was  guarding  the  Brig 
o'  Stirling,  and  the  Forth  might  easily  have  been  forded  by 
the  Highlanders  higher  up.  "  Oh  for  one  hour  of  Dundee  !  " 
exclaimed  an  old  chieftain  at  Sheriffmuir,  and  now  either 
Dundee  or  Montrose  would  have  utilised  the  Highland 
numbers  and  elan.  But  Mar  lay  in  his  leaguer  at  Perth, 
waiting  the  arrival  of  the  Western  mountaineers  and  the 
islesmen,  though  supports  were  fast  coming  up  to  the  enemy. 
James  Keith  was  boiling  over  with  impatience,  resenting 
the  inaction.  Like  the  rest,  he  welcomed  any  favourable 
report,  and  one  day — he  makes  no  allusion  to  it  himself — 
characteristically  he  galloped  down  the  lines,  shouting  that 
Bristol  and  Newcastle  had  fallen  to  their  English  friends. 
The  upshot  of  all  was,  that  Argyle  outmanoeuvred  them  from 
first  to  last  with  forces  infinitely  inferior,  and  finally  beat 
them  in  the  decisive  battle  with  3000  men  to  their  12,000. 

The  forward  move  from  Perth  was  leisurely  as  usual. 
On  the  12th  November  "  the  advanced  guard  lay  at  Dun- 
blane, and  the  rest  of  the  troops  were  quartered  about  a 
mile  behind,  the  want  of  the  tents  and  the  coldness  of  the 
weather  rendering  it  impossible  for  us  to  encamp."  The 
commissariat  had  been  neglected,  though  they  had  been 
quartered  for  weeks  in  one  of  the  most  fertile  districts  of 
Scotland  ;  the  troops,  billeted  about  in  cottages  and  farm 
steadings,  were  half  famished,  and  even  had  the  Jacobite 


MARSHAL   KEITH  i6i 

victory  been  decisive  as  it  should  have  been,  there  were  no 
means  of  following  it  up.  Next  morning,  at  break  of  day, 
both  armies  were  afoot,  and  facing  each  other.  "  Ours  lay 
in  two  Hues,  without  any  body  of  reserved  Even  then  the 
hesitating  Mar  called  another  council  of  war,  when  the 
question  was,  "  To  fight  or  not  to  fight."  He  was  so  far 
relieved  of  responsibility,  that  the  unanimous  resolution 
was  for  battle. 

"  The  Duke  commanded  the  Earl  Marischal,  with  Sir 
Donald  McDonald's  regiment  of  foot  and  his  own  squadron 
of  horse,  to  take  possession  of  the  rising  ground,  on  which 
a  body  of  the  enemy's  horse  still  remained,  and  to  cover 
the  march  of  the  army  on  the  left.  On  our  approach  the 
enemy's  horse  retired,  and  we  had  no  sooner  gained  the 
top  of  the  hill,  than  we  discovered  their  whole  body, 
marching  without  beat  of  drum  about  two  musket-shot 
from  us."  There  was  no  retreating  ;  the  Earl  Marischal 
sent  an  aide-de-camp  to  ask  for  assistance.  The  assistance 
came  "  even  in  too  much  haste,"  for  the  army,  which 
marched  in  four  columns,  arrived  in  such  confusion  that  it 
was  impossible  to  form  them  according  to  the  line  of  battle 
projected.  Argyle  was  there  in  person  with  Colonel  Cath- 
cart,  and  was  prompt  to  take  advantage  of  the  confusion. 
Keith  speaks  of  "  the  shameful  behaviour  of  the  foot," 
which  he  attributes  to  their  seeing  themselves  abandoned 
by  the  horse,  who  had  been  ordered  from  the  left  to  the 
right.  If  so,  the  order  was  the  more  superfluous,  that  on 
the  right  the  Highlanders  were  carrying  all  before  them, 
and  in  fact  one  of  the  fatal  mischances  of  the  day  was  that 
they  had  broken  altogether  out  of  hand.  But  there  is  some 
obscurity  in  his  narrative.     We  know  from  other  sources 


1 62  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

that  his  brother's  squadron  remained  with  their  broken 
left,  fighting  to  the  last  with  determined  gallantry,  and 
covering  the  flight  of  the  foot  with  repeated  charges.  It 
was  almost  entirely  composed  of  gentlemen.  It  was  then 
the  young  Earl  of  Strathmore  fell,  and  that  the  Earl  of 
Panmure  was  wounded  and  made  prisoner.  Keith  notes 
another  "  unlucky  mistake,"  which  is  much  to  the  credit  of 
Argyle's  coolness  and  generalship.  When  Mar  had  recalled 
his  victorious  centre  and  left,  he  might  have  renewed 
the  engagement  in  the  afternoon  with  an  overwhelming 
superiority  in  numbers.  The  Duke  had  taken  his  stand  on 
the  hill  he  had  won  to  the  right,  with  battalions  scarcely 
numbering  a  thousand,  but  by  broken  ground  and  turf- 
banks  he  disguised  his  weakness,  doubling  at  least  his 
apparent  strength  by  the  display  of  colours  taken  from  the 
enemy  and  closely  resembling  his  own.  He  deceived  the 
Jacobite  officer  sent  to  reconnoitre,  and  the  report  decided 
Mar  to  remain  resting  on  his  arms. 

Ill  news  followed  fast.  The  English  insurrection  had 
been  crushed  ;  6000  Dutch  who  had  landed  were  on  the 
march  for  the  North  ;  Huntly  and  Seaforth,  on  more  or  less 
plausible  pretexts,  had  withdrawn  to  their  own  counties, 
and  malcontents,  who  had  learned  wisdom  too  late,  had 
opened  negotiations  with  Argyle  to  know  on  what  terms 
he  would  receive  their  submission.  At  that  crisis,  and  in 
the  depths  of  an  exceptionally  severe  winter,  when  the 
hopes  of  his  party  were  as  cold  as  the  weather,  the  Cheva- 
lier disembarked  at  Peterhead,  Instead  of  coming  with 
a  French  fleet  bringing  arms,  money,  and  men,  he  landed 
from  a  fishing-boat  with  a  couple  of  attendants.  Born  to 
ill-luck,  and  of  a  sombre  temperament,  he  was  the  last  man 


i 


MARSHAL   KEITH  163 

to  animate  a  dispirited  army.  The  leaders  learned  that 
nothing  was  to  be  expected  from  France  ;  the  superstitious 
clansmen  saw  a  sinister  omen  in  the  shipwreck  of  the  two 
barks  that  carried  their  master's  baggage.  Nevertheless, 
the  forlorn  adventurer  must  be  received  with  royal  honours. 
Mar  set  out  to  meet  him,  and  was  eventually  accompanied 
by  the  Keiths,  for  the  brothers  were  locally  associated 
with  the  brief  visit  of  the  Pretender  for  whom  they  had 
sacrificed  everything.  Peterhead  was  within  a  mile  or  two 
of  their  castle  of  Inverugie,  and  they  chanced  to  meet  him 
at  Fetteresso,  one  of  their  former  baronies,  within  sight  of 
their  dilapidated  fortress  of  Dunnottar.  They  found  him 
prostrated  with  ague ;  they  escorted  him  to  the  head- 
quarters in  Perth,  but  he  never  regained  either  strength  or 
spirits,  and  his  sojourn  was  as  short  as  it  was  unsatisfactory. 
With  the  perversity  of  the  Stewarts  he  did  what  he  could 
to  ahenate  the  Lowlands  by  desolating  the  fertile  belt  to 
the  south  of  Perth,  as  Louis  and  Louvois  had  devastated 
the  Palatinate.  He  saw  his  army  dwindle,  and  the  ammuni- 
tion had  almost  given  out.  "  He  consulted  the  Duke  of 
Marr,  who  positively  advised  him  to  return  to  France," 
and  Mar  urged  many  plausible  reasons  for  a  flight  he  had 
already  determined  to  share.  However,  for  very  shame's 
sake,  he  took  counsel  with  others,  and  "  having  called  for 
the  Earl  Marischal,  told  him  he  desired  his  advice.  The 
Earl  excused  himself  on  account  of  his  youth  and  want  of 
experience,  but  finding  himself  still  pressed,  desired  that  he 
might  have  leave  to  speak  with  the  Duke  of  Marr."  Mar 
repeated  all  he  had  urged  on  the  Chevalier  ;  the  high- 
spirited  Earl,  arguing  against  hope  or  reason,  strove  to 
refute  all  his  reasoning,  but  finally  spoke  his  mind  in  what 


164  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

was  really  a  counsel  of  despair.  "  He  did  not  think  it  for 
the  King's  honour,  or  for  that  of  the  nation,  to  give  up  the 
game  without  putting  it  to  the  tryall."  When  he  pro- 
tested against  a  foregone  decision,  he  spoke  the  feelings  of 
the  rank  and  file,  who  even  on  the  retreat  that  was  ordered 
were  still  full  of  fight  as  ever.  When  James  and  his  com- 
mander-in-chief took  ship  at  Montrose,  skulking  down  the 
back  stairs  of  their  lodging,  the  Highlanders  were  furious 
at  having  been  deserted  and  befooled.  From  the  first  the 
demeanour  of  their  monarch  might  have  depressed  them. 
He  is  said  to  have  taunted  his  devoted  adherents  by  telling 
them  that  they  had  lured  him  to  Scotland  with  the  hope 
of  a  crown  when  all  they  had  to  offer  was  a  grave.  Prince 
Eugene's  comment  on  the  whole  proceedings  was  charac- 
teristic of  that  fiery  and  resolute  spirit — "  Weeping  is  not 
the  way  to  win  a  kingdom." 

The  Chevalier's  flight  was  more  helpful  to  his  followers 
than  his  presence  had  ever  been.  It  gained  them  a  clear 
day  in  their  retreat,  for  Argyle,  when  he  heard  of  the 
escape,  seems  to  have  slackened  the  pursuit.  If  it  was  his 
wish  to  spare  his  unfortunate  countrymen  unnecessary 
slaughter,  that  consists  with  his  kindly  nature  and  previous 
conduct.  Under  General  Gordon  the  half-mutinous  Jaco- 
bite army  marched  undisturbed  to  Aberdeen.  Then  another 
council  was  called  to  settle  the  question  between  a  final 
stand  against  the  enemy  or  a  sauve  qui  pent.  The  decision 
was  scarcely  in  doubt,  and  it  was  finally  settled  on  the 
failure  of  the  Earl  Marischal  to  bring  Huntly  again  into 
the  field.  The  Gordons  were  making  separate  terms  for 
themselves ;  the  Keiths  saw  themselves  beggared  and 
proscribed. 


MARSHAL   KEITH  165 

Then  the  brothers  had  very  similar  adventures  to  those 
of  Charles  Edward  after  Culloden.  As  in  1746,  the  remains 
of  the  Highland  host  struggled  over  the  mountains  to 
Ruthven  of  Badenoch,  whence  they  scattered  to  their 
native  glens.  The  Keiths  attached  themselves  to  the  isle- 
men  of  Skye,  and  to  the  Moidart  men  who  had  come  east 
with  the  Captain  of  Clanranald.  They  arrived  at  the 
islands  in  the  middle  of  March,  having  lost  nearly  a 
company  of  foot  in  crossing  the  sea-arm.  The  ships  of  the 
Government  patrolled  the  seas,  and  for  a  month  there  was 
no  opportunity  of  escaping.  Several  frigates  were  sighted 
off  the  coast,  and  they  heard  that  two  infantry  battalions 
had  disembarked  at  Portree.  When  all  seemed  hopeless 
a  Breton  smuggler  ran  the  blockade,  and  after  "  a  very 
pleasant  passage  "  they  were  landed  at  St.  Pol  de  Leon, 
which  with  its  colleges  and  cathedral  must  have  greatly 
reminded  them  of  their  own  Old  Aberdeen. 

From  St.  Pol  James  Keith  went  straight  to  Paris,  where 
he  found  himself  among  friends  and  kinsfolk.  But  most 
were  penniless  like  himself,  and  all  were  engrossed  with  their 
own  concerns.  His  warmest  welcome  was  from  Mary  of 
Modena,  who  assured  him  that  neither  she  nor  her  son 
could  forget  all  he  had  done  in  the  Chevalier's  service — "  in 
a  word,  had  I  conquered  a  kingdom  for  her,  she  could  not 
have  said  more."  Although  he  heard  nothing  more  for  a 
month,  during  which  he  was  reduced  to  selling  his  horse 
furniture,  she  had  a  longer  memory  than  most  royal 
personages.  For  then  she  sent  him  1000  livres,  placed  him 
at  the  Military  Academy,  kindly  reminding  him  that  he 
would  be  the  better  of  some  regular  training,  and  within 
a  year  the  youth  of  nineteen  had  his  commission  as   a 


1 66  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

colonel  of  horse,  with  orders  to  get  ready  for  an  expedition 
to  Scotland,  where  the  King  of  Sweden  contemplated  a 
descent.  He  was  dazzled  by  the  unexpected  promotion,  and 
exhilarated  besides  with  the  near  hope  of  retrieving  the 
family  fortunes.  But  his  spirits  had  only  been  raised  to 
be  dashed  again,  and  he  had  his  first  experience  of  many 
disappointments.  The  secret  of  the  Swedish  plans  had 
been  indifferently  kept ;  the  Regent  took  effectual  means 
to  baulk  it,  and  Keith  heard  no  more  of  his  commission. 
At  least  it  had  decided  him  to  end  h  s  apprenticeship  at 
the  Academy  and  to  seek  active  service.  "  With  noth  ng 
to  trust  to  but  my  sword  "  he  was  to  turn  soldier  of  fortune. 
His  first  attempt  was  a  failure,  though  in  the  future 
he  was  to  be  associated  with  many  a  stirring  event  in 
Russian  history.  In  the  midsummer  of  1717  the  Tsar 
Peter  came  to  Paris  to  be  feted  ;  his  ambitious  schemes 
were  the  talk  of  the  world,  and  Keith  was  eager  to  enter 
his  service.  How  he  made  his  approaches  he  does  not  say, 
but  he  gives  the  plausible  explanation  of  his  want  of  success, 
that  he  did  not  take  the  right  way  to  ensure  it.  That  he 
got  no  help  from  St.  Germains  was  natural  enough,  and 
flattering  besides  ;  the  shadowy  court,  always  dreaming  of 
another  revolution,  had  no  wish  to  send  helpful  men  to 
the  further  confines  of  Europe.  But  there  was  always 
occupation  to  be  found  nearer  home.  In  the  beginning  of 
next  year  there  were  preparations  for  war  between  Spain 
and  the  Empire.  There  was  little  difficulty  in  getting 
introductions  from  King  James  to  Madrid,  for  the  Jaco- 
bites were  always  glad  to  keep  young  soldiers  of  spirit  in 
active  training  in  countries  whence  they  might  be  easily 
recalled.     But  Keith  dallied  for  the  best  part  of  a  year, 


MARSHAL   KEITH  167 

and  he  very  candidly  gives  the  explanation.  The  fact  was 
the  youth  of  twenty  was  as  susceptible  as  the  war-worn 
veteran.  "  I  was  then  too  much  in  love  to  think  of 
quitting  Paris,  and  tho'  shame  and  my  friends  forced  me 
to  take  some  steps  towards  it,  yet  I  managed  it  so  slowly 
that  I  set  out  only  in  the  end  of  that  year ;  and  had  not 
my  mistress  and  I  quarrelled,  and  that  other  affairs  came 
to  concern  me  more  than  the  conquest  of  Sicily,  it's  pro- 
bable I  had  lost  many  years  of  my  time,  so  much  was  I 
taken  up  with  my  passion."  Nor  would  he  perhaps  have 
gone  then,  had  it  not  been  for  irresistible  pressure.  He 
had  fallen  ill  besides — he  does  not  say,  from  blighted 
affections.  It  is  strange  to  speculate  on  what  might  have 
been  his  fate,  had  he  remained  a  love-sick  flaneur  in  the 
streets  of  Paris,  possibly  reduced  to  discreditable  shifts  by 
an  exacting  mistress  and  a  scanty  purse.  But  the  family 
had  powerful  friends,  and  he  had  a  wise  brother  who  would 
not  lose  sight  of  him.  Cardinal  Alberoni,  who  then  governed 
Spain,  was  furious  at  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
off  the  Sicilian  coast  by  Admiral  Sir  George  Bjaig  without 
any  formal  declaration  of  war.  The  Cardinal  had  resolved 
to  be  avenged  by  helping  the  Jacobites,  and  he  summoned 
the  Duke  of  Ormonde  from  Paris.  Ormonde  in  turn  sent 
for  the  Earl  Marischal,  and  specially  requested  him  to  bring 
his  brother. 

Sailing  from  Marseilles  in  the  beginning  of  1719,  they 
landed  at  Palamos  in  Catalonia.  Their  reception  was  far 
from  cordial.  Their  answers  were  unsatisfactory,  for  they 
only  said  that  they  were  English  officers  on  their  way  to 
Madrid  in  search  of  employment.  In  Catholic  Spain  the 
general    feehng    then    was    that    for   military   service    no 


1 68  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

Protestants  need  apply,  and,  as  the  future  field-marshal  was 
to  learn  later,  it  was  an  effectual  bar  to  promotion.  The 
governor  forwarded  them,  under  arrest,  to  a  superior, 
though  he  courteously  assured  them  that  the  guard  was  a 
necessary  precaution  against  brigands.  At  last  they  were 
delivered  at  the  quarters  of  the  Duke  of  Liria,  who  knew 
them  personally,  and  was  ready  to  vouch  for  them.  But 
as  the  Duke  knew  nothing  of  the  proposed  descent  upon 
England,  as  to  that  they  kept  their  own  counsel,  and  they 
begged  him  not  to  disclose  their  names.  There  were  draw- 
backs and  advantages  in  the  strict  incognito.  "  We  re- 
solved to  continue  the  route  slowly  to  Madrid,  without 
fatiguing  ourselves  by  going  post,"  and  so  the  sturdy 
young  Scots  had  themselves  carried  in  chairs  to  the  environs 
of  Barcelona.  Thence  they  sent  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of 
Liria  to  the  Prince  of  Savoy,  who  commanded  in  the  place. 
It  acted  as  an  "  Open  Sesame."  It  passed  them  through 
the  gates  without  challenge  or  examination,  and  they 
could  not  conceive  a  reason  for  the  distinction  with  which 
they  were  treated.  To  his  wonderment  James  saw  a  state 
coach  with  six  mules  and  servants  in  the  royal  Savoy 
liveries,  draw  up  at  the  door  of  their  modest  inn.  It 
turned  out  that  Liria  had  kept  the  secrets  confided  to  him, 
and  that  the  Prince  had  just  received  letters  from  Alberoni 
saying  he  might  expect  King  James  himself,  who  was  to 
land  in  Catalonia  incognito.  "  I  believe  the  Prince  was 
sorry  to  have  given  himself  so  much  trouble  about  us,  yet 
he  received  us  very  civilly." 

When  they  waited  on  the  Cardinal  at  Madrid,  he  was 
rather  out  of  temper.  He  asked  why  they  had  taken 
things  so  easily.     They  answered  that  they  thought  there 


MARSHAL   KEITH  169 

was  no  sort  of  hurry.  "  Quite  the  contrary,"  was  the  re- 
joinder ;  "  the  business  is  pressing,  and  Ormonde  is  already 
on  his  way  to  the  Groine  "  (Corunna).  The  Duke  was  to 
embark  for  England,  the  Earl  Marischal  was  to  land  in 
Scotland,  but  it  was  indispensable  that  they  should  concert 
together.  So  the  Earl  posted  off  and  overtook  the  Duke 
at  Benevente.  Five  days  later  he  returned  to  Madrid  to 
settle  their  plans  with  the  Cardinal.  The  Spanish  treasury 
was  as  usual  in  low  water,  but  the  Earl  got  half  the  arms 
he  asked  for,  with  six  companies  of  foot  to  cover  his 
landing.  There  was  yet  another  difficulty.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  inform  the  chiefs  of  the  Jacobites  in  France  of  the 
plot  that  had  been  hatched  in  Spain,  and  as  the  countries 
were  then  at  war,  the  French  frontiers  were  strictly  guarded. 
Alberoni  asked  James  Keith  to  charge  himself  with  the 
perilous  mission.  He  had  a  voucher  to  the  French  Jaco- 
bites, in  the  shape  of  a  blank  order  from  Ormonde,  telling 
them  to  have  absolute  confidence  in  the  bearer.  With  that 
letter  and  18,000  crowns  Keith  left  Madrid  in  the  middle 
of  February.  But  at  San  Sebastian  he  had  parted  with 
two-thirds  of  the  sum  for  the  equipment  of  two  frigates 
destined  for  Scotland,  so  the  preparations  were  on  no  very 
lavish  scale.  He  was  fully  alive  to  the  risks  he  ran,  but 
as  the  affair  did  not  directly  concern  France,  he  hoped  that 
at  the  worst  he  "  might  be  quitte  for  laying  some  time  in 
prison."  He  made  his  way  to  Bordeaux  without  inter- 
ference, where  he  met  his  former  commander,  General 
Gordon.  But  at  Bordeaux  his  troubles  began,  and  by  the 
irony  of  fate  the  man  who  threatened  to  baffle  him  was 
the  son  of  the  monarch  he  was  seeking  to  restore.  James, 
Duke  of  Berwick,  was  commanding  in  Bordeaux  for  the 


I70  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Regent.  He  was  a  man  whose  sense  of  military  duty  was 
not  to  be  swayed  either  by  personal  considerations  or  filial 
affection.  He  gave  passes  to  none  who  were  not  inter- 
viewed by  himself  or  his  secretary,  and  as  Keith  was  well 
known  to  both,  he  dared  not  stand  the  ordeal.  However, 
he  found  a  friend  who  secured  a  pass,  and  he  mounted 
behind,  between  the  saddle-bags,  as  his  attendant. 

At  Paris,  as  a  matter  of  course,  he  was  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  intrigue.  When  some  of  the  leaders  hastened 
to  visit  him,  he  showed  them  his  credentials  from 
Ormonde.  They  smiled,  telling  him  frankly  that  the  billet 
would  not  have  been  worth  the  paper  it  was  written  on, 
had  they  not  already  had  instructions  from  Mar  to  obey 
any  orders  from  the  Duke.  "  This  plainly  let  me  see  that 
we  had  two  factions  amongst  us,  and  which  proved  the 
occasion  of  our  speedy  ruin  when  we  landed  in  Scotland." 
His  forebodings  were  to  be  only  too  surely  reahsed,  and 
again,  with  a  sad  heart  and  preparations  absurdly  inade- 
quate, he  embarked  on  a  desperate  venture.  Their  little 
French  company  sailed  from  Rouen  in  a  bark  of  twenty- 
five  tons.  It  was  their  intention  to  take  their  chances  in 
the  Straits  of  Dover  and  run  round  the  Orkneys  to  the 
Outer  Hebrides  ;  but  easterly  gales  forced  them  to  take 
the  westerly  course.  Off  the  Land's  End  in  the  dusk,  they 
were  in  the  middle  of  a  fleet,  answering  exactly  to  the 
numbers  of  that  of  Ormonde,  which  at  the  time  might  have 
been  expected  in  the  chops  of  the  Channel.  But  the  little 
craft  very  wisely  slipped  past  in  silence,  for  they  were 
really  with  an  English  squadron  transporting  troops  from 
Ireland. 

In  the  first  week  of  April  they  landed  on  the  Lewis, 


MARSHAL   KEITH  171 

where  the  natives  knew  nothing  of  any  Spanish  ships,  and 
could  give  them  as  httle  intelhgence  from  the  mainland. 
After  some  anxious  waiting  Keith  found  the  two  frigates 
at  moorings  in  Stornoway,  with  his  brother  on  board.  He 
communicated  his  suspicions  of  underhand  dealing.  The 
Earl  showed  his  commission  to  command,  and  handed  his 
brother  another  as  colonel  in  the  Spanish  service.  Next 
day  came  Tulhbardine  and  Seaforth,  and  on  the  following 
morning,  at  a  council  of  war,  Tulhbardine  produced  his  own 
commission  of  lieutenant-general.  Then  the  young  Earl, 
perhaps  weakly,  resigned,  though  reserving  authority  over 
the  ships,  as  to  which  he  had  positive  orders  from  the 
Cardinal.  After  that  it  is  a  melancholy  story  of  divided 
councils,  adverse  winds,  and  unfortunate  delays.  Keith  says 
bitterly  that  there  were  demons  conspiring  to  baffle  them. 
So  much  invaluable  time  had  been  wasted  that  the  Govern- 
ment had  drawn  troops  even  from  Holland.  When  the 
affair  was  brought  to  the  arbitration  of  arms,  it  was  a 
skirmish  rather  than  a  battle.  The  disheartened  High- 
landers showed  none  of  their  customary  fire  ;  they  broke, 
and  retreated  in  confusion  with  comparatively  little  loss. 
Night  gave  the  leaders  time  for  consultation  ;  the  Spaniards 
surrendered  and  the  Highlanders  dispersed. 

"  Everybody  else  took  the  road  he  liked  best."  Keith, 
who  was  sick  of  a  fever,  was  forced  to  he  in  hiding  in  the 
mountains  for  a  month,  when  he  crossed  country  to  his 
ancestral  estates,  and  found  a  ship  at  Peterhead  which 
carried  him  to  the  Texel.  At  the  Hague  the  brothers 
came  together  again,  and  again  they  set  out  in  company 
for  Spain,  deciding  to  pass  through  France  as  the  route 
least  likely  to  be  suspected.       But  at  Sedan    they  were 


172  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

stopped,  as  they  could  show  no  passports,  and  were  ordered 
off  to  prison  by  the  town  mayor.  As,  fortunately,  they  were 
not  searched,  they  destroyed  their  compromising  Spanish 
commissions.  Then  it  occurred  to  the  town  mayor  that  he 
had  forgotten  to  ask  their  names,  and  he  inquired  if  they 
had  any  papers.  The  Earl  showed  a  note  from  the  Princess 
de  Conti  which  opened  the  doors  of  the  prison.  Thus  they 
reached  Paris,  then  in  the  height  of  the  Mississippi  boom, 
so  that  no  one  troubled  much  about  the  anon5niious 
strangers.  They  parted,  to  meet  once  again  at  Toulouse, 
when  the  Earl,  to  his  brother's  surprise,  walked  into  his 
apartment.  Hoping  to  pass  the  Pyrenees,  he  had  been 
arrested  at  Bigorre,  and  after  a  six  weeks'  sojourn  in  the 
castle,  had  been  released  by  an  order,  signed  by  the  child- 
king,  accompanied  by  a  passport  for  Italy  and  a  peremp- 
tory order  to  leave  the  kingdom. 

Toulouse  was  not  on  the  road  from  Bigorre  to  Rome, 
but,  having  an  Italian  passport,  to  Rome  the  brothers  re- 
solved to  go,  and  take  the  opportunity  of  paying  their 
respects  to  their  royal  master.  Sea  voyages  might  then  be 
almost  as  protracted  as  the  cruise  of  Ulysses  from  Ilium 
to  Ithaca.  The  galley  of  the  Genoese  Republic,  bound 
from  Marseilles  to  Leghorn,  buffeted  by  light  head  winds, 
hugged  the  coasts  as  closely  as  that  of  the  Ithican,  con- 
tinually stormbound  in  the  harbours  whither  it  had  crept 
for  safety.  The  Genoese  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  daring 
navigators  ;  Keith  says  there  was  no  danger,  but  infinite 
worry,  and  he  solemnly  vowed  that  he  never  again  would 
be  tempted  to  set  foot  in  any  craft  Italians  professed  to 
navigate. 

At   Rome   they  had  no   reason   to   complain   of  their 


MARSHAL   KEITH  173 

reception.  The  King  took  it  for  granted  that  they  had  no 
money,  and  sent  his  secretary  to  the  Pope,  to  beg  an 
advance  of  1000  scudi  on  his  pension.  The  Pope  dechned, 
on  pretence  of  poverty,  which,  as  Keith  remarks,  shows  how 
Httle  regard  the  churchmen  have  for  those  who  have 
abandoned  all  for  their  religion.  However,  a  money-lender 
was  more  complaisant,  and  the  wanderers  had  the  means  of 
returning  to  Madrid.  Their  arrival  at  Leghorn  alarmed 
the  English  envoy,  who  threatened  the  Senate  with  a  bom- 
bardment by  the  Enghsh  fleet  if  they  were  not  summarily 
dismissed.  The  Keiths  were  only  too  willing  to  go,  but 
represented  the  impossibihty  of  making  a  start  with  an 
English  frigate  in  the  ofhng.  They  were  assured  that,  if 
they  would  charter  a  felucca  of  fourteen  oars,  they  could 
safely  sneak  along  the  Riviera,  sleeping  comfortably  every 
night  on  shore.  The  proposal  seemed  so  reasonable  that 
they  adopted  it. 

Penniless  in  Madrid,  James  presented  himself  at  the 
War  Office  to  ask  for  a  copy  of  the  colonel's  commission 
destroyed  at  Sedan.  From  time  immemorial  suitors  in 
Spain  have  always  been  kept  waiting.  Now  there  was  a 
very  decent  excuse  ;  that  commission,  signed  in  blank  by 
the  King,  had  been  filled  up  by  Alberoni,  now  in  exile, 
and  had  never  been  entered  at  the  War  Office.  After 
some  delay  he  did  get  another,  but  it  was  as  a  colonel 
unattached,  and  though  there  was  a  royal  order  that  it 
should  carry  pay,  the  pay  was  never  forthcoming.  "  I 
knew  nobody  and  was  known  of  none  ;  and  had  not  my 
good  fortune  brought  Admiral  Cammock  to  Madrid,  whom 
I  had  known  formerly  in  Paris,  I  know  not  what  would 
have  become  of  me  ;   he  immediately  offered  me  his  house 


174  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  his  table."  Cammock,  who  had  a  fellow-feeling  for 
refugees,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  a  CathoHc.  He  had 
served  for  years  in  the  British  navy,  and  well  merited  the 
rank  he  had  won  in  that  of  Spain.  At  the  battle  gained 
by  Byng  off  Cape  Passaro  he  had  commanded  a  Spanish 
sixty-gun  ship  ;  and  had  his  chief  listened  to  his  wise 
advice,  he  would  infallibly  have  escaped  the  great 
disaster. 

Two  years  were  idled  away  ;  after  failure  at  Madrid  he 
had  tried  Paris,  and  vainly  attempted,  through  feminine 
influence,  to  enter  the  French  service.  Early  in  1725,  when 
the  French  match  with  the  Infanta  of  Spain  was  broken 
off,  he  "  could  no  longer  stay  in  France  with  honour,  after 
the  notification  from  the  Spanish  ambassador  that  all 
officers  holding  the  Spanish  commission  should  leave  with 
the  Infanta."  In  1726  there  were  rumours  of  a  rupture 
with  England.  The  exile  writes  as  a  Spaniard,  of  the 
fleet  that  was  to  intercept  our  galleons.  Troops  were 
ordered  to  Andalusia,  and  it  was  evident  that  they  were 
intended  to  threaten  Gibraltar.  Keith  asked  to  be  em- 
ployed, but  had  the  usual  answer,  that  no  Protestant 
could  receive  a  command,  whereupon  he  volunteered.  But 
as  he  despaired  of  any  chance  of  advancement,  he  resolved 
it  should  be  his  last  campaign  under  Spanish  colours. 

He  gives  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  operations, 
and  the  carelessness  of  the  garrison  might  have  cost  them 
dear.  There  were  not  above  1000  men  in  the  place  ;  there 
was  but  a  slender  guard  at  the  landward  gate,  and  the 
Spanish  soldiers  were  actually  allowed  to  swarm  into  the 
tovm,  without  even  searching  them  for  arms.  A  surprise 
would  have  been  easy,  but  the  fortress  was  saved  by  a 


MARSHAL   KEITH  175 

strange  exhibition  of  the  Spanish  pride.  The  Count  de 
Las  Torres  said,  "  that  would  the  EngUsh  give  him  the 
town,  he  would  not  take  it  but  by  the  breach."  The 
Spanish  siege  train  was  delayed  by  the  rains  ;  when  it 
came,  the  batteries  were  mounted  at  an  impossible  dis- 
tance ;  when  nearer  ground  was  broken,  English  men-of- 
war  had  been  moored  so  as  to  rake  the  trenches  with  a 
flanking  fire  ;  reinforcements  had  been  poured  into  the 
place  by  the  fleet,  and  after  a  five  months'  series  of  fiascos 
the  siege  was  raised.  "  All  we  gained  was  the  knowledge 
that  Gibraltar  was  impregnable  by  land." 

Keith,  though  with  little  hope  of  success,  went  back  to 
Madrid  to  play  his  last  card.  He  asked  for  a  regiment 
through  the  King's  confessor,  and  had  the  answer  that  if 
he  would  turn  Roman  Catholic  he  should  have  the  regi- 
ment and  much  more.  He  was  neither  surprised  nor 
greatly  aggrieved,  for  with  the  bigoted  King  the  refusal 
was  matter  of  principle.  Keith  represented  that,  as  he 
had  no  hope  of  promotion,  he  must  reluctantly  quit  his 
Majesty's  service,  and  requested  a  recommendation  to  the 
Empress  of  Russia.  That  was  graciously  granted,  and 
letters  were  sent  to  the  Duke  of  Liria,  then  the  Spanish 
ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  charging  him  to  recommend 
Keith  to  the  sovereign.  Nor  could  he  have  been  better 
befriended.  The  Duke  was  an  old  acquaintance  and 
familiar  travelling  companion.  The  answer  came  almost 
by  return  of  post.  The  Tsar  would  take  him  into  his 
service  with  rank  of  major-general,  and  the  most  Catholic 
King  gave  him  1000  crowns  to  defray  his  travelling 
expenses. 

It    is    to    be    regretted    that    the    autobiography   ends 


176  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

abruptly  with  1737.  In  Russia  he  passed  nineteen  of  the 
best  years  of  his  Ufe,  and  eventful  years  they  were,  both 
for  him  and  the  land  of  his  adoption.  But  in  an  epoch 
when  empresses  reigned  and  their  lovers  or  favourites  ruled 
over  them,  much  mention  is  made  of  the  illustrious  Scottish 
soldier,  who  played  a  leading  part  in  the  wars  and  rose  to 
the  rank  of  field-marshal,  Keith  was  a  soldier  first,  but 
he  was  also  something  of  a  courtier  ;  as  we  have  seen,  he 
was  almost  as  inflammable  as  Marshal  Saxe,  and  so  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influences  of  the  fair  sex  that,  once  at  least, 
a  woman  had  well-nigh  changed  his  career.  It  is  said 
indeed,  though  we  give  little  credence  to  the  report,  that 
had  not  north-country  caution  tempered  his  ambition,  he 
might  have  been  the  consort  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth ; 
and  when  he  died  a  soldier's  death  in  his  old  age,  he  was 
as  passionately  in  love  with  a  mistress  as  when  he  had 
been  a  hot-headed  youth  of  twenty  in  Paris. 

The  Russia  of  1728  and  afterwards  offered  splendid 
opportunities  to  gifted  foreigners,  but  if  there  were  great 
chances  there  were  greater  risks.  Everything  depended 
on  some  woman's  smiles.  Beggars  might  rise  from  the 
dunghill  to  autocratic  rule,  like  Biron,  the  base-born  Duke 
of  Courland,  but  the  higher  the  eminence  to  which  they 
attained,  the  more  tremendous  was  the  almost  inevitable 
fall.  Their  elevation  turned  friends  into  jealous  enemies, 
and  the  relatives  of  the  victims  they  had  been  trampling 
under  foot,  when  they  dared  to  find  a  voice,  were  clamorous 
for  revenge.  If  the  fallen  favourite  set  store  by  life,  he 
might  deem  himself  fortunate  in  being  beggared  and 
banished.  As  a  new  sultan  used  to  make  a  clean  sweep 
of  his  male  kindred,   so   the   author  of  every  successful 


MARSHAL  KEITH  177 

revolution  scattered  death  sentences  and  orders  of  exile 
broadcast  ;  executions  were  preceded  by  atrocious  refine- 
ments of  torture,  and  the  highest  order  of  the  orthodox 
Church  was  no  safeguard  from  being  racked  in  the  dungeon 
or  broken  on  the  wheel.  Shortly  before  Keith  landed  at 
Cronstadt  there  had  been  one  of  the  most  striking  examples 
of  one  of  the  worst  vicissitudes  of  fortune.  Prince  Menschi- 
koff  had  been  more  than  the  alter  ego  of  the  Tsarina 
Catherine.  She  had  given  him  everything  he  asked,  except 
the  single  right  of  succession  to  the  throne  in  his  family, 
but  his  daughter  had  been  betrothed  to  the  heir  apparent. 
Grasping  as  he  was  ambitious,  charged  with  all  kinds  of 
corruption,  he  had  amassed  incalculable  riches.  By  the 
will  of  the  Empress  he  was  left  standing  alone.  Regent 
and  despotic  master  of  the  kingdom.  He  did  not  deem 
it  worth  while  to  conciliate  the  boy  Tsar  or  the  Tsar's 
favourite  sister.  A  threatening  of  apoplexy  and  a  short 
illness  changed  everything  ;  it  was  said  that  the  ruthless 
old  lion  was  dying  ;  his  enemies  took  heart,  his  friends  fell 
away,  the  Tsar  plucked  up  courage  to  shake  off  the  yoke, 
Menschikoff's  fall  from  step  to  step  was  rapid.  First  he  was 
snubbed,  then  banished  to  a  distant  estate  ;  order  after 
order  overtook  him  as  he  travelled,  each  more  severe  than 
the  former.  He  left  St.  Petersburg  in  pomp  ;  he  reached  his 
destination  closely  guarded  by  subaltern  officers  of  police. 
Palaces  in  half  a  dozen  of  cities,  domains  and  forests  in 
thirty-six  governments,  invaluable  jewels  and  vast  sums  in 
coin  and  bullion,  were  all  confiscated  by  one  stroke  of  the 
pen.  He  had  left  the  capital  with  a  train  of  coaches  and 
six,  and  150  smaller  carriages.     A  few  months  afterwards, 

in  a  common  kibitka,  he  exchanged   the   magnificence  of 

M 


178  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Oranienbaum  for  a  cabin  in  Siberia,  his  baggage  pillaged 
by  his  escort,  and  left  with  nothing  but  the  clothes  he 
wore.  His  destination,  Berezoff,  was  in  the  marshes  on 
the  Obi,  with  a  winter  cold  that  is  said  to  have  shivered 
the  window  panes ;  and  there  he  died.  It  argues  much 
for  Keith's  prudence  that,  high  as  he  rose,  he  never  lost  his 
footing  on  those  treacherous  slopes  till  he  retired,  in  reason- 
able apprehension,  of  his  own  free  will  and  pleasure. 

He  had  landed  at  Cronstadt  in  the  autumn  of  1728, 
and  in  October  was  at  Moscow,  where  his  friend  and  patron, 
the  Duke  of  Liria,  presented  him  to  all  the  principal  per- 
sonages. The  boy  Tsar,  as  was  his  habit,  was  gone 
hunting  in  the  neighbouring  forests.  He  had  nominally 
given  Keith  his  commission,  but  he  concerned  himself  little 
with  state  affairs,  and  in  his  brief  reign  was  but  a  puppet 
in  the  hands  of  favourites  and  flatterers.  Boy  as  he  was, 
with  the  restless  energy  of  his  race  he  had  inherited  the 
hard  drinking  and  the  amorous  susceptibilities  of  the 
first  Peter.  He  was  swayed  for  good  or  evil  between 
two  feminine  influences  ;  between  his  sister  Nathalie  and 
Elizabeth  the  future  Empress,  respectively  styled  the 
Minerva  and  the  Venus  of  the  court.  Had  he  listened  to 
the  wise  counsels  of  Nathalie,  it  had  been  better  for  him. 
But  the  boy  was  passionately  enamoured  of  his  aunt 
Elizabeth,  the  woman  of  many  lovers,  and  she  shared  his 
passion  for  field  sports,  as  for  dissipation  degenerating  into 
orgies.  Left  to  himself,  it  is  said,  he  might  have  married 
his  seductive  aunt,  born  out  of  wedlock  and  legitimated  by 
her  father  Peter.  But  he  was  as  wax  in  the  hands  of  his 
favourites,  the  Dolgoroukis,  and  they  betrothed  him  to  a 
daughter  of  the  house.     When  Keith  came  to  his  court, 


MARSHAL   KEITH  179 

everything  was  a  chaos  ;  no  master-will  had  replaced  that 
of  Menschikoff ;  law  was  in  abeyance,  life  was  unsafe,  and 
the  soldiers  had  broken  loose  from  all  discipline. 

Then,  to  the  consternation  of  the  Dolgoroukis,  young 
Peter  caught  the  small-pox  and  died.  In  their  despera- 
tion, in  a  family  gathering  they  forged  the  signature  to  a 
will,  by  which  Peter,  imitating  his  grandfather  and  over- 
riding the  established  order  of  succession,  bequeathed  the 
regency  to  his  betrothed.  Confronted  by  the  leading 
aristocracy  in  the  Imperial  Council,  they  had  never  the 
courage  to  promulgate  it.  Those  notables  took  matters  in 
hand,  and  made  arbitrary  choice  of  a  successor.  They 
sent  to  Mitau  for  the  Duchess  of  Courland,  second  daughter 
of  Ivan,  elder  brother  of  the  first  Peter.  They  sent  at  the 
same  time  a  charter  of  liberties  she  was  compelled  to 
subscribe,  and  brought  her  to  St.  Petersburg  a  constitu- 
tional sovereign.  If  they  had  hoped  for  a  Queen  Log,  they 
found  a  Queen  Stork.  Anne,  with  an  imperious  temper,  and 
smarting  under  many  mortifications,  was  indignant  at  the 
restraints  imposed.  Aided  by  the  jealousies  of  the  lesser 
noblesse,  she  provoked  an  /meute  of  the  Pretorian  Guards, 
who  always  found  their  account  in  devotion  to  unlimited 
autocracy.  It  was  no  longer  a  question  of  constitutional  re- 
straint, and  the  oligarchy  who  had  hoped  to  govern  were  in 
terror  of  their  lives.  Not  without  reason,  for  though  the  new 
Empress  took  her  vengeance  leisurely,  every  man  of  them  was 
sentenced  to  banishment  or  death.  As  for  the  Dolgoroukis, 
lately  all-powerful,  they  were  beggared,  sent  to  Siberia,  or 
doomed  to  death  with  refinements  of  torture. 

With  the  new  reign  began  a  golden  age  for  such  foreign 
adventurers  as  the  Scottish  soldier.     Germans  were  in  the 


i8o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

ascendant.  No  sooner  was  Anne  seated  firmly  on  the 
throne  than  she  sent  a  courier  post-haste  to  Mitau  to 
fetch  her  paramour  Biron,  whom  she  had  reluctantly  left 
behind.  The  name  had  been  Frenchified,  but  the  proper 
spelling  was  Biihren.  He  came  of  a  Westphalian  stock 
which  had  emigrated  to  Courland,  but  was  of  such  doubtful 
rank  that,  though  he  afterwards  became  sovereign  of  the 
country,  the  council  of  the  duchy  had  refused  to  rank  him  as 
noble.  His  wife  was  complaisant ;  his  relations  with  the  new 
Empress  were  notorious,  so  much  so  that  the  maternity  of 
the  Biron  children  was  doubtful.  Throughout  the  life- 
time of  Anne  he  ruled  Russia  with  a  rod  of  iron,  accumu- 
lating enmities  on  all  sides.  Ostermann,  another  German, 
crafty  and  cautious,  was  charged  with  foreign  aft'airs. 
Always  intriguing  against  those  in  place  and  power,  he 
invariably  took  to  bed  in  moments  of  crisis,  shirking  all 
active  responsibihty.  Field-Marshal  Munich,  Minister  at 
War  and  Commander-in-Chief,  was  of  a  very  different  stamp. 
A  typical  soldier  of  fortune,  who  had  served  in  the  armies 
of  France,  Hesse,  and  Saxony,  he  had  made  his  debut  in 
Russia  as  a  civil  engineer.  By  an  audacious  accepting  of 
the  responsibilities  from  which  Ostermann  shrank,  he  had 
attracted  the  notice  of  Peter  the  Great,  who  found  in  him 
a  man  after  his  own  heart.  A  Condottiere  who  had  no 
scruples  and  ignored  all  obstacles,  Kke  Peter,  when  pushing 
forward  military  enterprises,  he  set  slight  value  on  either 
lives  or  money.  He  knew  it  himself,  and  there  was  no 
reproach  to  which  he  was  more  sensitive  than  that  of 
playing  fast  and  loose  with  the  lives  of  his  soldiers.  There 
are  experts  who  have  ranked  him  with  Prince  Eugene,  and 
the  two  had  some  qualities  in  common.     He  took  Keith 


MARSHAL  KEITH  i8i 

by  the  hand  at  once,  and  Keith  certainly  owed  him  much, 
and  seems  for  a  time  to  have  been  as  devoted  to  him  as 
his  aide-de-camp  Manstein,  though  they  fell  apart  at  the 
coup  d'etat  which  raised  Ehzabeth  to  the  throne. 

There  never  was  a  time  when  there  was  a  sharper 
dividing  line  between  the  household  troops,  the  corps 
d' elite,  and  the  regiments  of  the  line.  The  men  of  the 
latter  were  soldiers  for  life,  the  duty  was  detested,  the  pay 
was  always  in  arrear,  the  clothing  was  ragged,  desertions 
were  frequent,  and  discipline  was  lax.  That  must  be 
remembered  in  considering  the  campaigns ;  but  then,  as 
now,  the  moujiks  in  uniform  would  march  to  death  with 
stolid  fatalism.  The  regiments  of  the  Guard,  on  the  con- 
trary, quartered  in  the  capital,  were  paid  and  petted  as 
possible  instruments  in  some  imminent  revolution.  Not 
a  few  of  the  privates  were  of  noble  or  gentle  birth. 
Munich's  own  regiment,  the  famous  Preobrajenski  Guards, 
was  devoted  to  him  ;  but  nothing  had  made  him  more 
generally  unpopular  at  headquarters  than  his  proposal  to 
scatter  these  gentlemen  through  the  provinces  and  give 
them  commissions  in  the  line.  When  Keith  came  to  court, 
one  of  the  Dolgoroukis,  a  field-marshal,  gave  him  com- 
mand of  two  foot  regiments  quartered  near  Moscow.  He 
modestly  asked  a  delay  of  three  months,  till  he  should  get 
some  notion  of  the  methods  of  the  service.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  had  taken  over  the  command  before  the 
revolution,  and  then,  to  the  general  amazement,  he  was 
given  a  newly-levied  regiment  of  Guards.  A  command  in 
the  Guards  was  one  of  the  most  important  trusts  in  the 
Empire,  and  according  to  Manstein  the  new  regiment  was 
enrolled  as  a  check  on  the  older  ones,  when  all  was  suspicion. 


1 82  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

"  All  Moscow,"  says  Keith,  "  was  as  much  surprised  as  I 
was  myself."  The  Empress  lost  no  time  in  imposing  the 
oath  exacted  by  Peter  the  Great,  leaving  it  to  the  reigning 
autocrat  to  settle  the  succession.  Keith  had  orders  to 
administer  it  to  his  regiment,  and  then  to  all  the  troops 
of  the  line  in  garrison.  They  took  it  to  a  man  without  hesi- 
tation, but  Dolgorouki  who  had  signed  Keith's  commission 
showed  temper,  and  was  said  to  have  spoken  disrespectfully 
of  the  Tsarina  herself.  Whereupon  he  was  seized,  tried,  and 
sentenced,  and  although  the  death  penalty  was  graciously 
commuted,  he  followed  the  rest  of  his  family  into  exile. 

The   military   council   presided    over   by   Munich   had 
framed  a  scheme  of  army  organisation,  with  an  inspector- 
general  and  three  deputies,     Keith  was  appointed  one  of 
the  deputies,  and  was  charged  with  the  department  of  the 
south-east.     He  left  Moscow,  where  he  had  been  in  com- 
mand of  the  garrison,  and  in  the  course  of  six  months  he 
reviewed  thirty-two  regiments  and  travelled  1500  leagues. 
He  returned  to  the  capital  to  find  "  everything  in  move- 
ment"   over   the    disputed    Polish    succession.      Stanislas 
Leckinski  was  the  French  candidate,  and  he  could  count  on  a 
great  majority  in  the  Pohsh  Diet ;  but  France  was  far  away, 
and  Austria  and  Russia  favoured   the  Elector  of  Saxony. 
It  was    resolved   at   St.  Petersburg   to   rush   the   country 
before  a  king  could  be  chosen,  though  the  march  of  an  army 
corps  under  General  Lacy  only  precipitated  the  election. 
But  the  reign  of  Stanislas  was  as  short  and  his  supremacy 
as  shadowy  as  that  of  the  unfortunate  Frederick,   "  the 
Winter  King  "  of  Bohemia.     He  fled  to  the  strong  fortress 
of  Dantzic,  whither  he  was  followed  by  the  Russians  under 
Munich  and  Lacy. 


MARSHAL   KEITH  183 

Meantime  the  Empress  had  despatched  other  forces  to 
march  on  Warsaw  and  invade  Lithuania.  Keith  passed  the 
Dneiper  on  the  ice  in  the  depth  of  winter,  with  six  battaUons 
of  foot,  a  regiment  of  dragoons,  and  4000  Cossacks.  There 
was  no  fighting,  but  rumours  of  formidable  Pohsh  musters 
had  alarmed  the  court,  and  Keith  was  superseded  by 
Prince  Shahofski,  who  arrived  with  strong  reinforcements. 
The  Prince  was  kept  inactive  by  short  supplies,  and  he 
devoted  his  involuntary  leisure  to  devastating  the  country 
around.  Keith  was  detached  with  3000  Cossacks  on  the 
duty  ;  he  did  what  he  could  to  avoid  it,  but  his  superior 
was  peremptory.  He  swept  in  cattle  by  the  thousand  and 
half-starved  horses  by  the  hundred,  but  wherever  he  turned 
he  found  villages  deserted,  and  in  his  reports  he  said  that, 
if  the  devastation  went  on,  their  own  troops  on  their 
advance  would  risk  dying  of  hunger.  He  repeatedly 
volunteered  advice  which  was  as  often  rejected.  Some  of 
his  personal  adventures  were  exciting  and  amusing.  At 
Medzibeg,  for  example,  he  understood  that  the  governor 
had  orders  to  receive  him  and  his  troops  and  ask  for  safe- 
guards. Accordingly  he  was  met  with  all  honours  without 
the  walls,  and  escorted  to  the  castle-palace  of  Prince 
Schartorinski,  the  Seigneur  of  the  place.  He  rode  straight 
to  the  castle  with  only  twenty-four  troopers,  where  he 
found  the  garrison  under  arms  with  drums  beating  and 
colours  flying.  He  saw  he  had  fallen  into  a  trap,  and  that 
the  only  way  of  escape  was  to  put  a  good  face  on  the 
matter.  He  sent  his  adjutant  for  his  "  equipage,"  ordering 
him  to  mix  150  grenadiers  with  the  waggons,  which  gives 
an  idea  of  the  encumbrances  with  which  Russian  com- 
manders were  wont  to  take  the  field.     Fortunately  for  him. 


184  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

his  baggage  train  entered  in  time  :  "  had  they  shut  the 
gate  before  their  arrival,  I  had  certainly  remained  a 
prisoner."  Then  Prince  Shahofski  in  turn  was  superseded 
by  the  Prince  of  Hesse-Homburg,  who  was  afterwards  to 
give  Munich  so  much  trouble  in  his  Turkish  war.  The 
Prince  was  one  of  those  high-born  soldiers  who  would  not 
obey,  but  had  no  genius  for  command.  And  it  was  a 
peculiar  force  he  had  under  him  ;  there  were  but  six 
battahons  of  foot,  all  the  others  were  dragoons  or  Cossacks. 
It  was  a  warfare  of  foraging,  scouting,  and  skirmishing  ; 
of  blockading  strong  places  with  no  siege  train,  trusting 
to  surprises,  starvation,  or  factions  within  the  enceinte; 
for  there  was  no  sharp  dividing  line  in  the  country  between 
the  partisans  of  Stanislas  and  those  of  the  Saxon  Elector. 
When  the  army  went  into  winter  quarters,  it  had  been 
so  far  successful  that  Eastern  Poland  from  the  Sanne  to 
the  Dneiper  was  in  Russian  occupation,  and  there  abruptly 
ends  Marshal  Keith's  autobiographical  fragment. 

In  the  spring  of  1735,  the  Polish  question  had  been  so 
far  settled  that  the  bulk  of  the  troops  were  withdrawn. 
The  restless  Empress  found  them  occupation  elsewhere. 
In  answer  to  an  appeal  of  the  Emperor  Charles  she  realised 
an  ambition  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  sent  a  corps  d'elite  to 
show  the  Russian  colours  on  the  Rhine.  Count  Lacy  went 
in  command,  and  Keith  was  his  second  as  lieutenant-general. 
The  march  lay  through  Bohemia  and  the  Upper  Palatinate, 
and  Manstein  says  that  every  one  was  in  admiration  of 
their  fine  physique  and  splendid  discipline.  It  was  but  a 
military  promenade  ;  no  shot  was  fired,  but  they  came 
back  with  credit  and  a  sensible  increase  of  Russian  prestige. 
Her  military  and  political  triumphs  turned  the  Empress's 


MARSHAL  KEITH  185 

head.  She  was  set  on  reaUsing  another  of  the  great  Peter's 
dreams,  and  the  result  was  the  costly  war  with  Turkey — 
costly  in  lives  and  wasteful  of  treasure.  It  had  been  in 
contemplation  ever  since  her  accession.  In  1732  Keith  as 
inspector-general  had  had  orders  to  review  the  troops  and 
examine  the  stores  collected  in  the  frontier  places  and  to 
replenish  the  magazines  in  case  of  deficiency.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  he  found  that  most  of  the  stores  were 
spoiled  ;  that  the  clothes  had  rotted  and  the  arms  rusted. 
He  did  what  he  could  to  put  things  in  better  order,  and 
gathered  in  vast  quantities  of  com.  The  Polish  troubles 
had  delayed  hostihties,  but  now  it  was  determined  to  open 
the  attack,  the  rather  that  Turkey  was  committed  to  a 
war  with  Persia. 

In  the  autumn  of  1734  General  Leontow  marched  for 
the  Crimea  with  20,000  men  and  orders  to  put  everything 
to  fire  and  sword.  He  had  not  time  to  do  any  great  damage 
before  winter  set  in  and  he  retired,  leaving  half  his  men 
behind  him.  Next  year,  with  a  more  powerful  army  and 
somewhat  better  organised,  Marshal  Munich  took  the  field 
in  person.  He  did  not  fare  much  better  than  Leontow, 
although  through  the  summer  he  waged  desultory  warfare 
with  varying  fortunes.  He  had  many  difficulties  to  contend 
with.  His  losses  in  battle  were  not  great,  but  the  soldiers 
died  hke  flies  from  hunger,  thirst,  and  exhausting  marches. 
Epidemics  broke  out  in  his  camps,  and  it  is  noted  that 
the  men  used  to  sour  black  bread  were  actually  poisoned 
when  they  had  to  fall  back  on  sweet  wheaten  flour.  We 
have  seen  what  Keith's  baggage  train  as  a  simple  general 
was  in  Poland,  and  the  number  of  ox-waggons,  beasts  of 
burden,  and  camp-followers  with  Munich  has  been  seldom 


1 86  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

exceeded  by  any  Indian  army.  The  depleted  ranks  had 
to  be  replenished,  and  when  Keith  led  back  Lacy's  10,000 
from  the  Rhine,  he  marched  them  straight  to  the  Ukraine, 
where  they  went  into  winter  quarters. 

In  April  1737  the  army  was  over  the  Dnieper,  Keith  in 
command  of  his  own  Rhenish  corps.  Its  objective  was 
Ockzakow.  The  Cossacks  came  in  touch  with  the  Tartar 
horsemen,  who  were  driven  back  after  a  sharp  skirmish. 
The  Marshal  held  a  council  of  war,  in  which  it  was  resolved 
to  push  the  siege  before  the  Ottoman  army  could  come 
to  the  relief.  The  Turks  on  their  side  were  not  inactive, 
for  the  council  was  broken  up  by  a  sally  of  the  garrison. 
Munich  was  on  his  mettle,  though  he  had  missed  his  fleet, 
which  was  to  come  down  the  Dnieper,  and  was  conse- 
quently in  want  of  everything.  There  was  not  even  wood 
for  fires  or  for  the  making  of  fascines.  Within  a  distance 
of  eight  leagues  around  everything  had  been  wasted,  even 
to  pasturage  for  the  horses.  But  5000  pioneers  were  at 
once  set  to  work  to  throw  up  redoubts  and  form  lines  of 
circumvallation  behind  the  Russian  trenches.  The  parallels 
were  pushed  forward  ;  the  Turks  were  driven  from  their 
advanced  posts,  and  forced  to  take  refuge  behind  the  inner 
palisades.  A  lively  cannonade  was  kept  up  ;  the  town 
was  seen  to  be  in  flames  in  several  places,  though  the  fires 
were  speedily  extinguished.  But  before  daybreak  on  the 
13th  July,  there  was  a  blaze  which  illuminated  the  town, 
and  the  flames  were  spreading  fast.  Whereupon  the  Marshal 
sent  orders  to  Keith,  who  was  in  the  centre  attack  and 
the  nearest  to  the  defences,  to  advance  within  musket-shot 
of  the  glacis  and  keep  up  a  continual  fire.  Keith  returned 
for  answer  that  he  was  already  within  musket-shot,  as  he 


MARSHAL   KEITH  187 

knew  to  his  cost,  for  though  his  men  were  behind  the 
redoubts,  many  had  been  killed  or  wounded.  The  Marshal 
simply  repeated  his  orders,  and  shortly  afterwards  became 
more  urgent,  ordering  the  troops  to  leave  their  shelter  and 
fire  without  cover.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Munich 
was  specially  sensitive  on  the  charge  of  wasting  the  lives 
of  his  men.  On  this  occasion,  Keith  again  protested,  but 
obeyed.  To  do  the  Marshal  justice,  if  he  sacrificed  others 
he  never  spared  himself.  Scarcely  had  Keith  got  his 
soldiers  out  of  the  redoubts  than  another  aide-de-camp 
reached  him  to  say  that  Munich  himself,  with  Biron  and 
the  Guards,  were  already  at  the  foot  of  the  glacis  on  the 
right,  and  he  hoped  Keith  would  follow  the  example. 
Lowendal  on  the  left  had  the  same  order,  and  advancing, 
he  joined  Keith.  At  the  bottom  of  the  glacis  they  were 
brought  up  by  a  ditch  twelve  feet  broad,  and  they  had 
nothing  to  bridge  it,  nor  had  they  ladders  to  scale  the 
counterscarp.  Yet  there  they  stayed  for  a  couple  of  hours, 
exposed  to  the  hottest  fire,  which  would  have  been  more 
deadly  had  they  not  been  so  near,  till  at  last  the  dis- 
heartened survivors,  after  endless  futile  efforts,  made  a 
rush  back  to  the  redoubts  and  the  gardens  in  which  they 
had  bivouacked  the  night  before. 

Marshal  Munich  was  in  despair.  But  the  progress 
of  the  conflagration  brought  a  sudden  turn  of  the  wheel 
of  fortune.  The  fire  had  reached  the  great  powder 
magazine,  which  blew  up,  spreading  destruction  through 
half  the  town,  and  burying  6000  soldiers  beneath  the 
ruins.  Thereupon  the  Seraskier  hung  out  the  white 
flag.  No  terms  were  granted,  and  there  was  a  general 
massacre.     Most   of  the  defenders  who  were   not   put   to 


1 88  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the   sword  were  drowned  in  their  attempts  to   swim   the 
river. 

Munich,  though  successful,  was  deeply  mortified.  It  was 
by  luck,  not  skill,  that  the  place  was  taken.  Seeking  a 
scapegoat,  he  found  one  in  Keith,  for  whom  now  he  had 
no  great  liking.  He  protested  that  the  attack  had  failed 
owing  to  Keith's  over-vivacity,  though  that  had  been  due 
to  his  own  initiative.  He  made  the  charge  to  the  Prince 
of  Brunswick,  in  presence  of  other  generals.  The  Scotsman 
was  not  there,  nor  was  he  in  condition  to  defend  himself, 
but  when  he  was  informed  of  what  had  passed,  he  sent  a 
message  to  the  Marshal,  saying  that  all  he  had  done  was 
by  his  orders,  and  demanding  a  council  of  war  or  a  court- 
martial.  He  added  that  he  gladly  welcomed  an  oppor- 
tunity of  indicating  the  mistakes  that  had  been  made  in 
the  beginning  of  the  operations.  The  Marshal  came  to  him 
next  morning,  apologetic  and  effusive  of  praises.  "  Sir," 
he  said,  "it  is  to  you  we  are  partly  indebted  for  the  success 
of  this  great  enterprise,"  Keith  answered  dryly,  "  I  beg 
your  pardon,  sir,  I  do  not  pretend  to  the  least  honour, 
having  done  nothing  but  obey  your  orders." 

Keith  was  in  no  condition  to  defend  himself  actively, 
for  with  a  bullet  in  the  knee  he  was  lying  helpless  on  his 
camp  bed.  The  Russian  surgery  was  rough  and  ready, 
and  the  only  idea  was  amputation.  Keith  was  loath  to 
part  with  the  limb,  and  would  not  hear  of  it.  We  have  no 
details,  but  he  must  have  lain  crippled  for  months,  and 
nothing  but  a  strong  constitution  could  have  pulled  him 
through.  We  know  that  there  was  time  for  the  news  to 
reach  his  brother  at  Valentia,  when  the  Earl  made  aU  haste 
to  Ockzakow.     The  patient  could  be  moved,   though  the 


MARSHAL   KEITH  189 

journey  must  have  been  a  severe  ordeal,  and  he  was  taken 
to  the  Baths  of  Bareges,  famous  a  century  before  for  the 
heahng  of  gunshot  wounds.  The  cure  was  effective,  for 
there  was  no  further  inconvenience.  It  was  then  that  the 
brothers  visited  England,  and  that  the  General  had  private 
audiences  of  the  King.  The  wound  had  more  important 
consequences.  Travelling  from  Russia  to  France,  the 
brothers  passed  through  Berlin,  where  they  were  received 
with  exceptional  honours.  The  eccentric  King  was  cordial, 
and  it  was  then  that  General  Keith  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Crown  Prince,  his  future  friend  and  master. 

Back  in  Russia  Keith  had  the  command  in  the  Ukraine, 
where  his  mild  but  resolute  rule  made  him  generally 
popular.  Yet  there  was  the  iron  hand  under  the  silken 
glove.  A  Wallachian  Prince,  commanding  a  regiment  in 
the  Russian  service,  on  his  way  to  St.  Petersburg  from 
Munich's  army,  was  passing  through  Poland.  Count 
Potocky,  the  Crown  General,  was  a  relation  of  his  own, 
nevertheless  the  Prince  was  seized  and  thrown  into  a 
dungeon,  and  he  had  information  that  he  was  to  be  handed 
over  to  the  Turks,  when  his  probable  fate  would  be  that 
of  Marsyas.  He  found  means  to  communicate  with  Keith, 
who  sent  a  peremptory  demand  for  his  release.  The  Crown 
General  prevaricated,  denying  possession  of  the  prisoner, 
but  finally  setting  him  at  hberty,  and  escorting  him  in 
person  to  the  frontiers  of  the  Ukraine.  As  it  happened, 
Keith  had  reason  to  repent  his  action.  The  Prince,  having 
been  detached  by  Munich  to  do  duty  on  the  Danube,  took 
the  bit  in  his  teeth  and  turned  back  into  Poland,  where  he 
ravaged  the  domains  of  his  cousin  the  Crown  General,  com- 
mitting the  most  shameful  atrocities.     Even  then,  when 


I90  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

wars  were  not  waged  with  rose-water,  the  raid  made 
immense  noise  and  scandal,  and  the  Empress  had  to  pay 
heavy  damages  to  avert  another  Pohsh  war. 

Keith's  departure  from  the  Ukraine  was  deeply  re- 
gretted. Manstein  says  that,  although  he  was  only  there 
for  a  year,  he  had  done  more  in  the  time  than  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  ten.  He  had  even  put  his  wild  Cossacks 
in  some  sort  of  training,  and  the  people  complained  that, 
having  once  given  them  so  good  a  governor,  he  ought  to 
have  been  left.  But  the  Court  cared  Httle  for  good  ad- 
ministration, and  the  General's  mihtary  services  were 
wanted  elsewhere. 

Trouble  had  been  brewing  between  Russia  and  Sweden  ; 
war  seemed  imminent,  and  for  once  Russia  was  preparing 
for  eventualities.  Troops  werfe  being  moved  to  the  frontiers  ; 
the  fleet  was  being  refitted,  and  the  magazines  replenished. 
There  was  an  interlude  while  great  events  were  passing 
at  St.  Petersburg.  The  Empress  Anne  had  died ;  the 
infant  Ivan  of  Brunswick,  doomed  to  a  hfe  of  misery  and 
a  Hving  death,  had  been  declared  Emperor  by  the  will  of 
the  late  Empress,  and  by  the  same  testamentary  disposi- 
tion the  omnipotent  favourite  Biron  had  been  constituted 
Regent.  In  a  few  weeks,  thanks  to  the  jealousy  of  his 
old  ally  and  bosom  friend.  Marshal  Munich,  Biron  was 
surprised  in  his  bed  and  sent  summarily  off  to  the  further 
confines  of  Siberia.  The  Duchess  Anne  of  Brunswick, 
mother  of  the  child-Emperor,  assumed  the  Regency,  and 
her  consort  was  proclaimed  Generalissimo  of  the  forces. 
Munich,  to  whom  they  owed  their  supremacy,  vain- 
gloriously  paraded  a  power  above  the  throne ;  he  fell 
naturally  into  disfavour  ;    disgraced,  he  was  sent  to  follow 


MARSHAL   KEITH  191 

Biron  to  Siberia,  where  for  twenty  years  he  occupied  the 
quarters  of  the  exiled  Duke  of  Courland. 

Russia  had  been  preoccupied  with  these  domestic  affairs, 
but  now  the  court  was  awakened  to  urgent  warnings  from 
their  minister  at  Stockholm.     The  Regent  summoned  Lacy 
and  Keith  to  St.  Petersburg.     It  was  resolved  to  form  two 
corps  d'arm/e.     The  first,  under  these  two  generals,  was  to 
enter  Finland  immediately  on  the  impending  declaration 
of  war.     On   the   22nd   July   the   first   camp   was   formed 
under  Keith  at  Wybourg,  ahnost  a  suburb  of  the  capital. 
There  were  eight  regiments  of  horse  and  foot,  and  they 
were  reviewed  by  the  generalissimo  and  Lacy.     A  month 
later,  on  the  little  Emperor's  birthday,  Keith  ordered  the 
troops  under  arms  to  hear  the  declaration  of  war.     He 
briefly  addressed  each   of    the  battahons,   exhorting  each 
soldier   to   do   his   duty   and   augment   the   glories   of  the 
Russian    arms.     The   next   day   the   march   began.       The 
force  was  nearly  doubled  by  regiments  from  Wybourg,  and 
the  men  carried  bread  for  fifteen  days.      Two  days  more 
and  the  army  was  on  the  frontier,  when  Lacy  arrived    to 
take  over  the  command. 

On  the  ist  of  September  the  frontier  was  passed.  So 
impracticable  was  the  country,  with  its  woods  and  swamps, 
that  the  army  could  only  advance  in  a  single  column.  At 
night,  when  they  lay  on  their  arms,  there  was  one  of  those 
night  alarms  when  trivial  causes  scare  the  steadiest  troops, 
as  we  learned  from  our  own  Peninsular  experiences.  Some 
Swedish  scouts  had  crept  through  the  woods,  till  they  were 
challenged  and  fired  at  by  one  of  the  sentinels.  The 
regiments  of  the  second  line  sprang  to  their  feet,  opening 
a  lively  fire  on  their  comrades  in  front.     They  seem  to 


192  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

have  fired  high,  for  but  a  few  were  killed  and  wounded. 
Nevertheless  the  scare  might  have  had  fatal  consequences, 
for   Lacy  and  Keith  were  sleeping  between  the  lines,  and 
the  tents  in  which  they  had  lain  down  were  riddled.     As 
it  was,  the   fusillade  gave  Wrangel,  the  Swedish  general, 
notice   of  the   enemy's   approach.     The   fortified   town   of 
Wilmanstrad  was  the  immediate  object  of  the  Russians. 
Some  hundreds  of  the  dragoon  horses  had  torn  loose  from 
their  picket-pins.     The  volleys  in  the  camp  had  startled 
an  advance  guard  of  the  Swedes,  and  when  the  thunder 
of   approaching   hoofs   intimated    a   cavalry   charge,    they 
turned  and  fled  full  speed  for  the  town.     The  horses  came 
hard  on   their   heels,  and   entered  with   them   before    the 
bridges  could  be  raised.     Not  only  had  a  Russian  regiment 
been  dismounted,  but  Wrangel,  when  he  heard  the  firing, 
sent  immediate  intelligence  to  his  colleague  Buddenbrog, 
and  hurried  forward  himself  to  the  relief  of  the  town.     It 
would  have  been  well  for  him  had  he  not  taken  the  alarm. 
He  had  no  answer  from  his  colleague,  but  took  up  a  posi- 
tion facing  the  Russians  and  commanding  the  town.     In 
the  battle  that  ensued  Lacy  attacked  with  slight  regard  to 
formation,  and  apparently  with  no  plan.     Keith  led  the 
right  wing,  and  Manstein,  who  was  under  him,  writes  as  an 
eye-witness    and    leading    actor.     Keith   sent    two    of   his 
regiments    to  storm    the   batteries,   which   were   seriously 
annoying  him.     The  regiments,  who  had  to  plunge  into 
a  ravine  and  climb  a  counterscarp,  recoiled    in  disorder. 
Then  Keith   detached  Manstein  on  a  flanking  movement 
under  cover  of  the  woods.     It  was  so  successful  that  the 
Swedes,  abandoning  their  positions,  broke  and  fled  for  the 
town.     The   batteries   they   had   abandoned   were   out   of 


MARSHAL   KEITH  193 

action,  till  they  were  captured  and  turned  against  themselves. 
Everywhere  the  battle  went  in  favour  of  the  Russians,  and 
Wrangel's  soldiers  were  taken  or  slaughtered  almost  to  a 
man.  Nor  did  their  misfortunes  end  there.  A  parle- 
mentaire  sent  to  summon  the  place  was  killed  by  a  shot 
from  the  ramparts.  His  death  roused  the  Russians  to 
fury.  Wilmanstrand  was  stormed,  its  defenders  put  to  the 
sword  ;  subsequently  the  city  was  razed  to  the  ground  and 
the  miserable  inhabitants  transported  to  Russia. 

Manstein  attributes  the  victory  to  Keith,  but  says  both 
the  Swedish  generals  were  seriously  to  blame.  Wrangel 
neglected  the  most  ordinary  precautions,  and  Buddenbrog 
was  rightly  sentenced  to  death  by  court-martial  for  having 
failed  to  come  to  his  assistance.  Both  Swedes  and  Finns 
would  seem  to  have  deteriorated  lamentably  since  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.  The  night  after  the  battle  there  was 
a  more  disgraceful  panic  in  Buddenbrog's  camp  than  that 
which  had  roused  Keith  and  Lacy.  A  few  dragoons, 
flying  from  Wilmanstrand,  charged  down  on  the  advanced 
pickets.  The  sentry  challenged  and  had  no  answer  ;  he 
fired  his  carbine,  threw  himself  on  his  horse  and  rode  for 
the  camp.  The  fugitives  followed,  the  pickets  got  mixed 
with  them,  and  so  general  was  the  alarm  that  in  a  few 
minutes  all  Buddenbrog's  soldiers  were  scattered  through 
the  woods.  He  and  his  staff  were  left  in  charge  of  the 
camp,  and  next  day  they  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
gathering  the  men  back  to  the  colours.  Yet  Wilmanstrand, 
says  Manstein,  was  the  only  battle  in  which  the  Swedes 
showed  any  valour  in  the  whole  course  of  the  war. 

For  the  war  was  to  go  on,  though  for  the  present  the 
Russians  withdrew  behind  the  frontier  without  following  up 

N 


194  SOLDIERS    OF    FORTUNE 

their  advantage.  Lacy  returned  to  St.  Petersburg,  leaving 
Keith  in  command.  The  army  was  in  winter  quarters  ; 
Keith  had  a  summons  from  the  Marshal  to  a  council  of 
war,  but  had  scarcely  reached  the  capital  when  he  was 
recalled  by  news  of  menacing  Swedish  movements.  We 
know  not  whether  he  was  aware  of  the  great  events  im- 
pending. By  a  strange  and  happy  coincidence  he  left 
St.  Petersburg  the  day  before  the  coup  d'etat  that  placed 
Elizabeth  on  the  throne.  It  may  have  been  well  for  him 
that  he  was  temporarily  out  of  the  way,  for  though  the 
conspiracy  was  engineered  by  Frenchmen,  the  daughter  of 
Peter  was  raised  to  power  on  a  rush  of  reaction.  There 
was  a  proscription  of  the  foreigners.  Munich,  Ostermann, 
and  three  others  of  scarcely  less  note  were  sentenced  to 
the  axe  or  the  wheel,  and  only  reprieved  on  the  scaffold 
after  a  grim  burlesque  that  might  have  been  fatal  to  men 
of  weaker  nerve.  Honours  were  showered  on  the  Russian 
Revolutionists.  Not  content  with  what  had  been  done, 
the  Preobrajenski  regiment  of  guards,  who  had  been  in  the 
forefront  of  the  plot  and  to  whom  Elizabeth  had  made 
special  promises,  clamoured  for  the  massacre  of  all  the 
strangers.  Foreigners  of  all  nations  were  hunted  in  the 
streets,  and  even  one  of  Lacy's  aides-de-camp  was  so  mis- 
handled that  he  nearly  died  of  his  wounds. 

When  the  war  with  Sweden  recommenced  in  spring, 
Keith  had  his  own  experience  of  the  troubles.  The  rioters 
in  St.  Petersburg  had  sent  agents  to  the  army,  where  the 
regiments  of  the  guards  set  the  example  of  mutiny.  Borrow 
in  his  "  Bible  in  Spain  "  tells  how  Quesada,  single-handed 
— followed  only  by  two  orderlies — quelled  a  tumult  in 
Madrid.     He  adds,  "  Who  by  his  single  desperate  courage 


OF  If 


MARSHAL   KEITH  195 

and  impetuosity  ever  before  stopped  a  revolution  in  full 
course  ? "  Manstein,  a  good  judge  of  manhood,  as  the 
Great  Frederick  had  reason  to  know,  places  Keith  on  a  level 
with  Quesada.  The  mutineers  had  gone  straight  to  their 
German  general's  tent.  They  missed  the  general,  but  they 
mastered  the  guard,  abused  the  staff,  and  maltreated  the 
servants.  They  shouted  that  all  foreigners  should  be 
massacred  ;  they  had  broken  away  from  all  control,  for 
their  own  officers  would  not  approach  them.  Then  Keith 
rode  up.  "  He  threw  himself,  without  the  least  hesitation, 
into  the  thickest  of  the  mutinous  troops.  He  seized  with 
his  own  hand  one  of  the  mutineers.  He  ordered  a  priest 
to  be  called  to  confess  him,  saying  he  would  have  him  shot 
on  the  spot.  .  .  .  Scarce  had  he  pronounced  these  words, 
with  that  firmness  which  is  natural  to  him,  before  the 
whole  band  dispersed  and  ran  each  to  hide  himself  in  his 
tent.  Keith  ordered  a  call  of  the  rolls,  that  the  absent 
should  be  taken  into  custody."  Manstein  adds,  that  had 
it  not  been  for  the  spirited  determination  of  the  Scot,  the 
revolt  must  have  spread,  since  no  Russian  officer  would 
have  undertaken  to  face  the  rage  of  the  soldiery. 

The  disturbance  seems  to  have  passed  and  left  no  trace. 
After  summary  chastisement  had  fallen  on  the  ringleaders, 
the  rank  and  file  returned  to  discipline.  The  Russians 
advanced,  driving  the  Swedes  out  of  a  succession  of  strongly 
defensible  positions,  and  the  chase  was  followed  up  to  Hel- 
singfors.  Finally  a  Swedish  army  of  17,000  men  capitulated 
to  numbers  barely  superior.  Finland  was  abandoned  ;  ten 
Finland  regiments  were  disarmed  and  disbanded ;  and 
Keith,  who  was  appointed  governor  of  the  province,  went 
into  winter  quarters  at  Abo  with  a  force  deemed  sufficient 


196  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

to  hold  it.  Manstein  suggests  various  reasons  for  the 
humihating  surrender.  Yet  the  fact  remains  that  those 
degenerate  Finns  were  the  descendants  of  the  great 
Gustavus'  famous  cuirassiers. 

The  war  was  resumed  in  1743  to  compel  the  Swedes  to 
accept  all  the  hard  Russian  conditions.  But  that  year  it 
was  chiefly  fought  on  the  sea  and  the  sea-fjords,  and 
Keith  figured  in  the  novel  character  of  Admiral,  with 
Lacy  still  in  supreme  command.  In  May  he  left  Abo, 
joined  his  galleys  to  those  of  another  flotilla,  and  decided 
to  offer  the  enemy  battle.  But  he  had  to  count  with 
winds  and  calms  and  dangerous  navigation  among  shoals 
and  islands,  and  operations  dragged  on,  though  the  Swedes 
had  the  worst  of  it.  When  Lacy  had  joined  him,  and  they 
might  have  dealt  a  decisive  blow,  supplies  were  scarcely 
to  be  had  on  any  terms,  and  both  combatants  were  nearly 
starving.  Consequently  it  was  a  welcome  announcement 
in  midsummer  that  the  prehminaries  of  a  peace  had  been 
signed,  and  that  there  was  to  be  an  immediate  suspension 
of  hostilities.  The  troops  were  to  be  withdrawn  from 
Finland,  and  Keith  returned  to  Abo  to  make  the  necessary 
arrangements.  With  a  hitch  in  the  negotiations  came 
counter-orders,  and  Keith  when  half-way  home  was  sent 
back  to  Helsingfors  with  thirty  galleys. 

Meantime  in  Sweden  there  had  been  revolt  in  Dale- 
carHa,  and  the  Danes  had  been  massing  troops  on  their 
Swedish  frontiers.  The  King  and  the  Senate  turned  for 
help  to  the  Russians,  to  oppose  the  Danes  and  to  quell  the 
internal  troubles.  Keith  was  now  to  turn  diplomatist,  and 
had  orders  to  repair  to  Stockhobn,  taking  his  11,000  soldiers 
with  him.     He  was  to  make  his  reports  and  take  his  orders 


MARSHAL   KEITH  197 

from  the  King,  but  was  fully  accredited  as  Russian  envoy. 
It  was  a  boisterous  voyage,  and  Manstein  says  that  "  any 
other  man  would  hardly  have  been  able  to  execute  this 
expedition.  He  had  not  only  to  contend  with  the  violence 
of  the  storms  and  the  intensity  of  the  cold,  but  also  with 
the  officers  of  the  marine  who  were  often  representing  the 
impossibility  of  proceeding  in  so  severe  a  season."  Keith 
received  the  remonstrances,  put  them  in  his  pocket,  and 
renewed  the  signals  for  going  straight  ahead.  Nine  months 
were  passed  in  Sweden,  when  the  foreign  difficulties  having 
been  amicably  arranged,  he  and  his  troops  were  recalled. 
He  brought  his  fleet  to  Revel  in  the  middle  of  August. 

The  remainder  of  his  stay  in  Russia  may  be  briefly  dis- 
missed. On  his  return  the  successful  Admiral  and  envoy 
was  received  with  all  honour,  and  for  a  time  he  stood  so 
high  in  the  favour  of  the  Empress  that  scandal  was  busy 
with  their  relations.  Naturally,  both  as  favourite  and 
foreigner,  he  made  many  enemies  in  influential  quarters.  The 
most  formidable  was  Bestucheff,  the  new  Vice-Chancellor. 
Little  by  little  he  was  deprived  of  his  commands  and 
emoluments ;  in  1747  the  man  who  had  governed  the 
Ukraine  and  administered  conquered  Finland,  had  only 
two  regiments  of  militia.  He  knew  well  that  after  such  a 
glissade  he  might  any  day  follow  Munich  and  Ostermann 
to  Siberia.  The  cup  of  his  disappointment  and  discontent 
overflowed  when  in  December  a  Russian  army  was  to 
march  for  the  Rhine  to  aid  the  Austrians  against  the 
French.  When  Lacy,  who  had  the  first  claim,  had  dechned 
the  leading,  Keith  should  naturally  have  had  the  refusal, 
had  it  been  a  question  of  the  most  experienced  and  dis- 
tinguished   general.     To    his    disgust,    the    choice    fell    on 


198  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Prince  Repuin,  and  it  came  as  another  warning  to  be  gone. 
He  had  another  grievance  which  assured  him  of  his  loss 
of  favour,  had  he  doubted  it.  He  had  sohcited  a  place  for 
his  brother  the  Earl.  "  We  have  Marshals  enough,"  was  the 
curt  answer  of  the  Empress. 

If  Keith  was  disgusted,  another  and  a  greater  soldier 
was  delighted.  Frederick  of  Prussia  had  never  lost  sight 
of  him  since  years  before  they  had  met  at  Potsdam.  Since 
then  Frederick  had  waged  the  war  of  the  Pragmatic 
Sanction,  and  knowing  that  the  peace  was  but  an  indefinite 
truce,  he  had  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  his  Russian  neigh- 
bours and  on  the  ablest  of  the  soldiers  of  fortune  who  had 
been  disciplining  them.  His  envoys  were  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, less  for  diplomacy  than  to  send  minute  information 
as  to  all  that  was  going  on,  and  he  had  followed  the  decline 
of  Keith  with  warm  personal  interest. 

Keith  left  the  land  of  his  adoption  without  beat  of 
drum  and  with  no  formal  leave-takings.  He  passed  the 
frontier  incognito  and  travelled  unostentatiously  to  Ham- 
burg. Thence  he  sent  Frederick  a  letter  with  a  proffer  of 
his  services  ;  the  answer  was  prompt  and  to  the  point,  and 
flattering  as  he  could  possibly  have  desired.  He  was  to 
have  the  rank  of  Field-Marshal ;  the  pay  was  £1200  a 
year,  with  everything  else  suitable  to  his  standing.  And 
the  pay  was  good,  when  ambassadors  at  Paris  or  Vienna 
had  to  keep  up  their  state  on  £800  or  £900.  The  King 
received  him  with  open  arms,  and  in  a  few  weeks  he  wrote 
to  his  brother  that  he  dined  almost  daily  at  the  royal 
table.  "  He  has  more  wit  than  I  have  wit  to  tell  you  ; 
speaks  intelligently  on  all  subjects,  and  I  am  much  mis- 
taken if  with  the  experience  of  four  campaigns  he   is  not 


MARSHAL   KEITH  199 

the  best  officer  in  his  army."  But  he  adds  that  the  King 
was  a  man  who  kept  his  own  secrets,  for  the  Marshal  was  a 
shrewd  judge  of  character. 

The  more  he  was  known,  the  more  he  was  valued. 
Two  years  afterwards  he  was  Governor  of  Berlin,  with 
increased  pay  and  allowances.  Though  in  the  meantime 
all  seemed  peaceful  enough,  the  King  had  been  making 
ready  for  probable  trouble.  In  1757  the  storm  broke,  with 
all  the  world  except  his  uncle  of  England  against  him.  It 
was  a  war  got  up  by  the  women  he  had  offended,  and  it 
would  be  hard  to  say  whether  the  Austrian  Empress,  the 
Tsarina,  or  Madame  de  Pompadour  hated  him  the  most. 
Consequently  there  was  no  hope  of  conciliation,  though  he 
attempted  it  at  Vienna  to  put  himself  in  the  right.  Coolly 
calculated,  his  ruin  seemed  assured,  but  at  least  he  had 
done  everything  to  meet  the  shock.  His  army  of  150,000 
was  perfection  ;  it  had  been  trained  and  drilled  by  such 
gifted  generals  as  old  Schwerin  and  Frederick  of  Brunswick, 
the  Duke  of  Brunswick  Bevern,  Moritz  of  Dessau,  and 
Marshal  Keith. 

The  question  was  whether  to  wait  or  strike.  PoUcy 
dictated  the  one  :  strategical  considerations  the  other 
England  had  been  holding  him  back,  but  a  decision  was 
now  urgent.  Frederick's  own  mind  was  made  up,  but  he 
consulted  his  most  trusted  generals.  With  what  know- 
ledge they  had  they  argued  that  as  the  future  was  in- 
scrutable, it  would  be  well  to  wait  still.  But  when 
Frederick  showed  the  secret  papers  in  his  possession,  old 
Schwerin  broke  out,  "If  it  must  be  war,  let  us  march 
to-morrow  ;  let  us  seize  Saxony  and  form  magazines  for 
our  campaign  in  Bohemia." 


200  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

All  was  in  readiness  when  what  was  practically  an 
answer  to  what  was  virtually  an  ultimatum  came  from 
Vienna.  Three  columns  crossed  the  frontiers.  In  contrast 
to  the  endless  Russian  baggage  trains,  there  were  to  be 
no  unnecessary  encumbrances.  There  was  to  be  but  a 
single  cart  per  company  ;  not  even  a  general  was  to  be 
permitted  an  ounce  of  plate  ;  and  so  minutely  did  the 
King  attend  to  the  welfare  of  the  troops  that  each  captain 
was  ordered  to  take  a  cask  of  vinegar  to  correct  the  water 
when  the  quality  was  doubtful.  Keith  was  with  the 
central  column,  which  directed  itself  on  Dresden.  There 
he  was  charged  with  a  dehcate  duty.  Frederick  had 
broken  the  peace  and  was  apparently  the  aggressor,  but 
he  knew  there  were  documents  in  possession  of  the  Queen 
of  Poland  which  would  amply  justify  him,  and  these  he 
was  determined  to  secure.  That  the  Queen  should  remain 
in  Dresden  was  not  unnatural ;  but  it  is  strange  that  those 
precious  papers  should  not  have  been  sent  to  the  fortress 
of  Konigstein,  whither  Saxon  archives  and  the  treasures 
of  the  Schatzkammer  were  invariably  transported  in  times 
of  peril.  Keith  offered  his  master's  homage  to  her 
Majesty.  She  bitterly  complained  of  her  doors  being  beset 
by  Prussian  soldiers.  Keith,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  answered 
respectfully,  but  next  morning  she  found  the  sentries  doubled 
and  the  corridors  patrolled.  An  officer  presented  himself, 
who  was  polite  but  inflexible ;  and  Frederick  secured  the 
papers  which  had  a  startling  effect  on  European  opinion. 

The  Saxon  army,  16,000  strong,  was  formidably  en- 
trenched in  the  Saxon  Switzerland.  Their  camp  was  not 
to  be  stormed,  and  though  time  was  precious,  the  only 
alternative  was  to  starve  them  out.     But  the  Austrians 


MARSHAL   KEITH  201 

under  Broun  were  advancing  to  the  relief  of  their  aUies, 
and  Keith  with  30,000  men  was  sent  to  watch  the  passes 
leading  out  of  Bohemia.  Keith  manoeuvred  warily  with 
inferior  forces,  but  Broun  was  pressing,  for  he  had  per- 
emptory orders  to  reheve  the  Saxons  at  any  cost.  Frederick 
with  strong  reinforcements  hurried  to  the  point  of  danger. 
Keith's  camp  was  broken  up  and  the  King  marched  to 
meet  the  Austrian  Marshal.  They  met  in  the  bloody 
battle  of  Lobositz.  Frederick,  coming  up  in  the  evening, 
had  seized  twin  hills  and  the  intervening  pass,  whence  he 
looked  down  on  the  Austrians.  Broun  had  reason  next 
day  to  regret  that  he  had  left  those  hills  undefended.  The 
morning  opened  in  dense  mists.  Frederick  ordered  a 
cavalry  charge  in  the  dark,  which  was  repulsed  with  heavy 
loss  and  which  put  his  horse  out  of  action  for  the  time. 
Yet  when  the  mists  were  hfting,  accustomed  to  Austrian 
over-caution,  he  fancied  that  Broun  was  retiring,  and  that 
he  was  only  confronted  by  a  rearguard.  He  found  out 
his  mistake,  and  seldom  has  there  been  a  more  fiercely 
contested  action.  Prussian  stubbornness  prevailed  in  the 
end,  after  seven  hours  of  hand-to-hand  fighting,  and  the 
honours  of  the  day  were  with  the  Duke  of  Brunswick 
Bevem.  "  Never  have  my  troops,"  said  Frederick,  "  done 
such  miracles  of  valour  ;  "  but  it  was  less  satisfactory  to 
feel  he  had  been  teaching  the  Austrians,  who,  with  dis- 
cipline greatly  improved,  had  shown  scarcely  inferior 
heroism.  Broun  was  baffled  but  not  discouraged,  and  it 
was  no  fault  of  his  that  a  second  attempt  to  break  the 
blockade  was  foiled  by  weather  which  wrecked  a  cleverly 
devised  combination.  The  Saxons  capitulated  to  famine, 
and  passed  under  the  Prussian  colours.     All  this  time  and 


202  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

till  the  army  went  into  winter  quarters,  Keith  had  remained 
in  his  camp  at  Lobositz,  engaged  in  some  minor  actions, 
but  virtually  merely  keeping  the  lists. 

1757  was  the  darkest,  the  most  brilHant,  and  the  most 
wonderful  year  in  the  King's  chequered  career.  Beset  by 
enemies  on  all  sides,  his  most  urgent  concern  was  to  deal 
with  the  Austrians.  In  Bohemia  they  had  two  great 
armies.  Broun  and  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine  were  at  the 
capital ;  Daun  and  Ludowitz  were  coming  up  behind. 
Frederick's  columns  were  set  in  motion  for  Prague  ;  the 
combinations  were  calculated  to  a  day,  for  Schwerin  was 
advancing  through  the  mountains  by  a  different  route  from 
the  King,  and  punctuality  was  everything.  Schwerin  was 
true  to  time  at  the  trysting  place  before  the  Austrian  field- 
works,  but  his  sturdy  soldiers  came  up  in  the  last  stage  of 
exhaustion.  The  Marshal  pleaded  for  a  day's  delay,  but 
the  King,  in  apprehension  of  the  arrival  of  Daun,  determined 
for  immediate  attack.  The  excitement  of  battle  fired  the 
flagging  strength  of  Schwerin's  hungry  and  weary  soldiers. 
The  Austrians  held  the  natural  fortress  of  the  famous 
Ziskaberg,  bristling  with  improvised  redoubts  and  field 
batteries.  The  only  possible  chance  of  success  was  in 
turning  the  position  on  their  extreme  right,  and  success 
was  achieved,  in  spite  of  unforeseen  obstacles  in  the  shape 
of  ditch  and  morass,  with  the  loss  of  13,000  men— Frederick 
puts  it  at  18,000— and  of  brave  old  Marshal  Schwerin, 
whom  he  valued  at  10,000  more.  Broun,  with  his  leg 
shattered  by  a  cannon  ball,  was  carried  into  Prague  to  die 
of  the  wound.  Prince  Charles  was  put  hors  de  combat  with 
spasms  in  the  chest.  Forty  thousand  of  the  enemy  were 
driven  into  the  town,  and  the  rest  broke  away  in  various 


MARSHAL   KEITH  203 

directions.  Keith  with  the  Prussian  right  wing  was  on 
the  Weissenberg,  to  the  west  of  the  city,  and  had  no  direct 
share  in  the  victory.  But  he  cut  into  the  game  by  head- 
ing back  the  Austrians  who  sought  safety  in  flight  by  the 
western  gates. 

The  strain  on  Frederick's  nerves  was  intense,  for  then 
as  always  through  that  campaign  time  was  everything. 
He  may  have  hoped  to  carry  Prague  by  a  coup  de  main, 
but  the  beaten  enemy  made  a  formidable  garrison  in  a 
city  exceptionally  capable  of  defence.  It  was  furiously 
bombarded  from  both  sides  ;  Keith  had  mounted  his 
batteries  on  the  Lorenzberg,  a  height  dominating  the 
Weissenberg.  The  siege  dragged,  horse-flesh  was  selling  at 
fancy  prices,  and  the  garrison  was  enfeebled  by  famine. 
On  the  23rd  of  May  they  were  mustered  for  a  desperate 
sally  upon  Keith's  lines  to  the  west  of  the  Moldau.  Ten 
thousand  picked  men,  those  who  had  suffered  least,  were 
to  break  out  in  the  darkness,  and  the  whole  of  the  army 
was  mustered,  to  follow  if  things  went  well.  But  Keith 
was  on  his  guard  ;  there  was  no  surprise,  and  the  sortie 
was  repulsed  with  heavy  loss. 

Still  the  siege  dragged,  and  Daun,  already  superior  in 
numbers,  was  gathering  strength  every  day.  Frederick 
resolved  on  the  desperate  venture  of  attacking  him  in  his 
entrenchments  on  the  heights  of  Kolin.  The  tidings  of 
that  disastrous  day  were  brought  to  Prague  by  special 
messenger — a  messenger  who  had  specially  distinguished 
himself,  and  Colonel  Grant  was  charged  with  the  order 
for  the  immediate  abandonment  of  the  siege.  The  shock 
to  the  generals  was  great,  but  they  lost  not  a  moment  in 
obeying.     Ferdinand  of  Brunswick  was  in  command  on  the 


204  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Ziskaberg,  Keith  on  the  Lorenzberg.  The  order  came  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  19th  of  June.  At  three  in  the  morning 
of  the  20th  the  Prince  was  fihng  down  from  the  Ziskaberg. 
Keith's  departure  was  delayed  for  twelve  hours  longer,  for 
he  had  all  the  baggage  with  him  and  most  of  the  guns; 
but  once  begun,  it  was  admirably  effected.  He  took  every 
precaution  for  the  safety  of  his  convoy,  for  he  feared  there 
might  be  hot  pursuit.  At  Leitmeritz,  where  he  halted,  he 
was  joined  by  the  King.  But  there  was  little  rest  for 
Frederick.  He  had  detached  his  brother,  the  Prince  of 
Prussia,  on  the  difficult  and  delicate  business  of  completing 
the  evacuation  of  Bohemia,  which  was  inevitable.  August 
Wilhelm  bungled  it,  and  his  brother  hurried  off  to  put 
matters  right,  leaving  Keith  to  follow  with  the  artillery. 

He  could  not  tempt  the  Austrians  to  the  battle  he 
ardently  desired,  and  his  presence,  as  always,  was  urgently 
demanded  elsewhere.  The  French  with  Austrian  allies 
were  in  Thuringia.  Leaving  an  army  to  mount  guard 
over  Silesia,  he  hastened  westwards  with  a  weak  division, 
gathering  up  reinforcements  as  he  went.  But  two  months 
were  to  elapse  before  he  brought  the  French  to  battle  ;  he 
was  called  back  by  the  evil  tidings  of  menace  to  Berlin, 
and  in  his  absence  Keith  and  Frederick  of  Brunswick  were 
left  to  do  their  utmost  in  face  of  the  enemy.  He  came 
back  towards  the  end  of  October,  and  came  in  time  to 
bring  relief  to  Keith,  who  had  thrown  himself  into  Leipzig 
with  a  feeble  force.  For  two  days  Keith  had  been  in 
extreme  danger,  but  he  had  stood  gallantly  on  his  defence 
when  summoned  by  Soubise's  vanguard.  The  news  of 
Frederick's  approach  had  raised  the  siege.  Then  from 
Leipzig  there  was  a  forward  march,  and  ten  days   after- 


MARSHAL   KEITH  205 

wards  the  battle  of  Rossbach.  The  King  headed  the  left 
column  ;  Keith  led  the  right,  keeping  within  touch.  On 
the  ist  November  they  were  on  the  banks  of  the  Saale  ; 
the  French  declined  to  dispute  the  river  ;  the  Prussians 
repaired  the  broken  bridges  and  passed.  In  front  of  them 
was  a  country  of  hill  and  dale  and  sheltered  villages,  and 
there  the  battle  was  fought,  when  the  victors  were  as  one 
to  three  against  the  vanquished.  Frederick's  left  lay  round 
the  village  which  gave  the  field  its  name,  and  in  the  centre 
he  commanded  in  person.  Soubise  was  over-confident  in 
his  overwhekning  superiority,  and  the  Prussian  weakness 
had  been  masked  so  adroitly  that  he  beheved  it  to  be  even 
greater  than  it  was.  His  plan  was  to  surround  and  roll 
up  the  puny  forces  opposed  to  him.  The  tables  were 
turned  in  the  sudden  surprise,  when  Sedlitz  with  the  cavalry 
came  down  on  his  right  in  a  furious  flanking  charge.  In 
the  confusion  thus  created,  Frederick  unmasked.  His  field 
pieces  came  into  view  on  the  hill  crests,  and  opened  a 
murderous  fire.  His  infantry,  in  echelon,  descended  the 
slopes  in  steady  advance,  silent  till  they  opened  a  musket 
fire  on  the  serried  ranks  of  the  French.  In  vain  Soubise 
and  his  gallant  heutenants  strove  to  bring  order  out  of 
chaos  and  confusion.  Keith  and  Ferdinand  of  Bruns- 
wick had  come  down  simultaneously  with  the  King,  and 
were  searching  the  French  left  with  withering  volleys. 
Huddled  together  hke  scared  sheep,  confusion  became 
panic  ;  the  rout  was  general ;  they  broke  and  fled  in  all 
directions,  leaving  guns  and  everything  else  behind. 

No  sooner  had  the  victory  been  won  than  Frederick 
was  back  in  Silesia.  There  everything  had  been  going 
against  him  ;    Charles  of  Lorraine  and  Daun  had  overrun 


2o6  SOLDIERS   OF    FORTUNE 

the  province.  Frederick's  arrival  was  to  turn  back  the  tide  ; 
but  Keith  was  busy  in  Bohemia,  where  he  routed  his  con- 
fident enemies  on  the  bloody  field  of  Leuthen,  and  after  a 
swift  succession  of  the  most  remarkable  victories  on  record, 
went  into  winter  quarters  at  Breslau.  At  Rossbach  the 
odds  had  been  as  one  to  three  ;  Leuthen  was  won  with  30,000 
against  80,000  of  the  elite  of  the  Austrians. 

The  year  1758  opened  with  the  unlucky  siege  of  Olmutz, 
conducted  by  Keith.  The  Marshal  lost  no  honour  by  his 
failure,  which,  though  unwont  to  cast  blame  on  subordi- 
nates, he  attributed  chiefly  to  his  chief  engineer.  More- 
over, ammunition  had  run  short,  and  for  that  he  was  in 
no  way  responsible.  It  was  said  that  Frederick  had 
hesitated  to  deplete  his  magazine,  and  a  train  of  supplies 
which  he  sent  forward  was  ambushed  and  captured  with 
the  convoy.  Had  the  Marshal  been  in  any  way  blamable, 
he  would  have  retrieved  his  credit  by  the  masterly  retreat 
in  which  he  saved  himself  and  his  4000  baggage  waggons. 
Throughout  he  was  ever  in  the  rear  of  his  rearguard,  though 
suffering  from  severe  illness, 

Frederick  in  earlier  days  had  been  inclined  to  overrate 
the  Russians  ;  latterly  he  had  gone  to  the  other  extreme. 
Keith  had  repeatedly  told  him  that  he  was  wrong,  and  at 
Zorndorf  he  had  reason  to  remember  the  warning,  though 
Keith  was  not  there  to  remind  him.  He  won  the  battle, 
but  at  a  heavy  cost.  Unlike  the  French  at  Rossbach,  the 
Russians  refused  to  recognise  defeat,  and  though  they 
could  not  re-form  again  to  order  like  the  highly  drilled 
Prussians,  they  stood  stubbornly  to  be  cut  to  pieces. 

After  Leuthen,  Charles  of  Lorraine  had  gone  in  sore  dis- 
comfiture to  Brussels ;  but  Daun,  as  strong  as  before,  was 


MARSHAL   KEITH  207 

overrunning  the  Saxony  Frederick  had  annexed.  On  the 
loth  of  October  Frederick  was  facing  him  again  with  what 
forces  he  could  muster  after  his  Pyrrhic  victory  at  Zorndorf . 
For  four  days  the  armies  sat  watching  each  other.  Keith 
was  in  command  of  the  Prussian  right,  stretching  beyond 
the  village  of  Hochkirch,  and  within  two  miles  of  Lobau, 
memorable  in  the  wars  of  the  next  century.  The  King 
had  been  pressing  forward  with  less  than  his  usual  de- 
liberation ;  the  positions  were  bad,  and  Keith  remarked 
bluntly  that  if  the  Austrians  did  not  attack,  they  deserved 
to  be  hanged.  Daun  agreed  with  Keith,  and  confident 
like  Soubise  in  his  numbers,  had  devised  a  similar  and  an 
excellent  plan.  The  plan  of  a  night  or  early  morning  sur- 
prise was  so  foreign  to  his  habitual  caution,  that  Frederick 
for  once  was  deceived.  And  Daun,  reading  his  adversary's 
mind,  had  cleverly  added  to  the  deception  by  elaborately 
strengthening  the  entrenchments  on  his  heights.  Thirty 
thousand  selected  men  under  his  own  command  were  under 
cover  in  the  woods  opposite  Keith's  positions  on  his  left. 
At  the  stroke  of  five  from  the  church  of  Hochkirch  they 
were  to  rush  the  Prussian  outposts.  A  few  minutes  after 
the  bugles  answered  the  chime  of  the  clock,  there  was 
a  raging  hand-to-hand  fight  in  and  around  the  village  ; 
Keith,  roused  from  his  sleep,  rushed  from  his  quarters 
behind  to  hear  that  his  men  were  being  beaten  back,  and 
that  his  batteries  were  taken.  The  guns  must  be  recovered 
at  any  cost.  He  threw  himself  upon  his  horse,  retook  his 
batteries,  but  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  Austrians 
surging  back  again.  The  light  was  still  dim  ;  the  dawn 
was  obscured  by  powder  smoke  ;  all  was  confusion,  and 
nothing  to   be  distinguished.      He   called  in  vain   for  his 


2o8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

aides-de-camp  ;  he  could  rally  no  men  to  his  support. 
Twice  wounded,  with  the  few  soldiers  around  him  he  was 
striving  to  extricate  himself  and  restore  the  battle,  when  a 
third  bullet  reached  his  heart.  Like  old  Schwerin,  the 
greatest  of  the  Scottish  soldiers  of  fortune  fell  on  the  field 
of  honour,  and  died  as  he  would  have  desired,  though  the 
one  fell  in  the  hour  of  defeat,  the  other  on  the  eve  of  a 
glorious  victory. 

The  Marshal  had  domestic  tastes  though  he  never 
married,  neglecting  his  many  opportunities  in  Russia.  But 
at  the  surrender  of  Wilmanstrand  in  1743  he  found  among 
the  prisoners  a  beautiful  Swedish  girl  whose  parents  had 
either  fled  or  perished.  He  took  Eva  Merthens  in  every 
sense  under  his  protection,  for  he  was  no  more  of  a  vSt. 
Anthony  than  any  of  his  contemporaries.  He  had  the 
little  girl  carefully  educated — in  particular  she  showed  a 
great  talent  for  music — and  when  she  grew  up  she  became 
his  mistress.  By  her  he  had  several  children,  of  whom 
we  hear  nothing,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  they  were  ill  pro- 
vided for.  His  brother  the  Earl  may  have  exaggerated  his 
poverty,  but  except  for  such  windfalls  as  the  administration 
of  Bohemia,  there  were  few  opportunities  of  saving  under 
Frederick's  frugal  regime.  Whatever  he  possessed  was 
bequeathed  to  his  mistress,  who  survived  her  elderly  adorer 
for  half  a  century. 


VII 

MARSHAL    SAXE 

Maurice  of  Saxe  was  one  of  the  numerous  progeny  of 
Augustus  the  Strong,  Elector  of  Saxony  and  King  of 
Poland.  He  inherited  the  strength,  the  constitution,  the 
abilities,  and  the  temperament  of  his  gifted  and  vicious 
father.  His  mother  was  the  beautiful  Aurora  von  Konigs- 
mark,  and  his  life,  like  hers,  was  a  romance.  She  was  the 
daughter  of  the  Count  von  Konigsmark  who  had  dis- 
appeared mysteriously  when,  presuming  on  his  favour  at 
the  Court  of  Hanover,  he  had  raised  his  eyes  to  a  Princess 
of  Zell.  Jewish  creditors  disputed  the  succession  to  his 
property,  when  Aurora  with  her  sisters  came  from  Denmark 
to  Dresden  to  invoke  the  protection  of  the  Saxon  Elector. 
The  amorous  prince  was  fascinated  at  first  sight ;  the  lady 
surrendered  after  a  protracted  siege.  It  is  said  that  at  the 
fete  in  her  honour  which  swayed  her  decision  she  found  on 
her  plate  at  the  evening  banquet  a  bouquet  of  precious 
stones  of  priceless  value.  Maurice  was  born  in  1696,  one 
of  a  hundred  or  more  of  illegitimate  children  who  could 
claim  princely  paternity.  But  the  son  of  Aurora  von 
Konigsmark  was  the  only  one  who  was  acknowledged  ;  the 
infant  had  the  title  of  Count  de  Saxe,  so  that  Maurice 
might  be  said  to  have  been  cradled  on  the  steps  of  a  throne 
— whence,  perhaps,   the  audacity  of  his   conceptions,  his 

209  o 


2IO  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

magnificence  in  a  milieu  where  profusion  was  the  rule,  and 
his  over- vaulting  ambition.  His  doting  mother  spoiled  the 
boy ;  his  father  loved  him  for  the  striking  resemblance  to 
himself,  in  character  as  well  as  physique.  Aurora's  accom- 
plishments might  have  held  the  affections  of  the  volatile 
monarch — he  had  been  elected  to  the  crown  of  Poland  the 
year  after  Maurice's  birth — had  not  the  consequences  of  a 
severe  illness  disenchanted  him ;  but  she  still  retained  his 
friendship  and  regard,  nor  had  she  reason  to  complain  of 
his  generosity.  The  monarch's  favourite  mistress  was 
made  Abbess  of  the  wealthy  Abbey  of  Quedlinburg,  and 
she  had  sundry  pensions  to  boot.  The  sisters  of  Quedhn- 
burg  were  of  the  Lutheran  religion  ;  Maurice  was  bred  in 
that  faith  and  held  firmly  to  it,  which  afterwards  delayed 
his  advancement  in  France,  when  he  had  earned  the  baton 
of  the  Field-Marshal  over  and  over  again. 

His  military  tastes  were  pronounced  as  those  of  Prince 
Eugene,  and  never  has  there  been  a  more  precocious  boy. 
With  a  single  exception  he  hated  lessons,  but  as  a  child 
he  was  enthusiastic  over  riding  and  fencing.  That  sole 
exception  was  the  study  of  French,  as  if  his  prescience 
had  forecast  his  future.  As  soon  as  he  could  mount  a 
horse,  he  had  accompanied  his  father  to  the  Polish  cam- 
paigns. When  peace  was  proclaimed  in  Central  Europe, 
he  sadly  missed  the  excitement.  When  in  1708  the  allies 
declared  war  against  King  Louis  he  got  permission  to  join 
them.  A  boy  of  twelve,  enlisting  as  a  private,  he  marched 
on  foot  from  Dresden  to  the  Netherlands,  where  he  joined 
the  King,  who  was  then  incognito  in  the  alHed  camp.  His 
mother  had  been  inconsolable  at  the  parting,  but  she 
specially  confided  him  to  the  charge  of  Count  Schulenberg, 


MARSHAL  SAXE  211 

who  was  in  command  of  the  Saxon  contingent.  Young 
Maurice  could  have  found  no  better  mentor;  but,  though  he 
admired  the  Count  as  a  master  of  war,  unfortunately  he 
set  small  store  by  his  moral  lessons.  He  had  gone  to 
school  besides  under  Marlborough  and  Eugene,  who  noted 
the  intelligence  of  their  eager  pupil  when  they  were  forming 
the  most  formidable  of  the  future  generals  of  France. 
Precocious  in  everything,  when  the  allies  were  resting  on 
their  arms  through  the  winter,  the  boy  had  the  first  of  his 
innumerable  amours.  He  made  himself  conspicuous  in  the 
battle  of  Malplaquet,  and  in  the  evening  after  the  frightful 
carnage,  remarked  placidly  that  he  was  well  content  with 
the  day's  work. 

In  March  1710,  hearing  that  the  Russians  had  invaded 
Livonia  and  invested  Riga,  he  hurried  from  Dresden  to 
take  part  in  the  siege,  and  had  a  cordial  reception  from 
Peter  the  Great.  The  fortress  fell,  and  satisfied,  as  he 
said,  with  having  received  the  approbation  of  so  glorious 
a  leader,  that  he  might  miss  no  possible  chance  he  hastened 
west  to  the  Low  Countries.  At  the  sieges  of  that  summer 
he  exposed  himself  with  such  foolhardiness  as  to  have 
warning  or  rebuke  both  from  Marlborough  and  Eugene. 
Marlborough  said  that  none  but  a  man  who  knew  not 
what  danger  was  would  do  what  he  did,  and  Eugene  told 
him  that  with  connoisseurs  of  experience,  recklessness  could 
never  pass  for  courage.  No  warnings  of  the  kind  had  any 
weight.  In  1711,  when  he  was  campaigning  with  the  King 
against  the  Swedes  in  Pomerania,  he  swam  the  Sound  in 
sight  of  the  enemy,  with  a  pistol  in  his  teeth,  when  three 
and  twenty  of  his  soldiers  were  shot  in  the  crossing. 
Soldiering   had   ever   a  greater   fascination   for   him   than 


212  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

love-making.  In  the  winter,  the  King,  delighted  with  his 
military  spirit,  gave  him  a  newly-raised  regiment  of  horse 
as  a  plaything.  Maurice  was  indefatigable  in  mounting, 
drilling,  and  disciplining  his  men,  and  was  so  highly  satis- 
fied with  the  results  that  he  longed  to  lead  them  into 
action.  His  desires  were  gratified  in  the  spring,  when  the 
war  was  renewed  in  Pomerania.  The  Saxons  were  beaten, 
but  Maurice  distinguished  himself  by  the  skill  and  spirit 
with  which  he  handled  his  regiment ;  his  dispositions  in 
repeated  charges  and  the  adroitness  with  which  he  managed 
the  retreats  were  praised  alike  by  the  Saxon  and  the 
Swedish  generals.  Already,  with  all  his  hot-headed  valour 
he  had  the  eye  and  cool  decision  of  a  veteran. 

It  may  be  doubted  whether  the  best  and  most  beautiful 
of  wives  would  have  steadied  him,  but  when  he  was 
married  to  a  girl  of  fifteen,  his  mother's  choice  was  an 
unhappy  one.  It  was  no  love  match  when  in  his  nineteenth 
year  he  wedded  the  Countess  de  Lobin.  The  young  lady 
was  a  great  heiress,  but  she  was  as  careless  of  the  marriage 
vows  as  her  husband,  and  they  soon  parted,  not  by  divorce, 
but  by  mutual  consent. 

Next  year  there  was  nothing  notable,  except  a  narrow 
escape  from  death  or  captivity,  in  which  tactics  and  daring 
served  him  well.  Travelhng  to  the  army  with  five  officers 
and  a  dozen  of  attendants,  he  was  beset  in  an  inn  by  a 
Polish  horde  belonging  to  a  faction  opposed  to  his  father 
and  bitterly  envenomed  against  the  son.  The  little  party 
blocked  doors  and  windows,  and  stood  on  their  defence  till 
their  ammunition  had  given  out  and  things  looked  desperate. 
A  sally  seemed  hopeless,  but  Maurice  told  his  followers  it 
was  their  only  chance,  for  no  quarter  was  to  be  expected. 


MARSHAL   SAXE  213 

The  night  was  falUng,  and  there  were  woods  hard  by  where 
they  might  find  safety.  They  rushed  the  enemy's  ad- 
vanced guard,  who  had  dismounted ;  seized  their  horses, 
cut  a  passage  through  the  rest,  reached  the  woods,  and 
made  their  way  to  a  Saxon  garrison.  Maurice  would  have 
been  sadly  disappointed  had  mischief  befallen  him  then, 
for  he  was  hastening  to  the  siege  of  Stralsund,  where  he 
hoped  to  see  the  hero,  Charles  the  Twelfth,  who  was 
directing  the  defence  in  person.  His  wish  was  gratified, 
for  one  day,  being  with  the  stormers  of  a  horn-work,  he 
met  Charles  face  to  face,  who  was  fighting  at  the  head 
of  his  grenadiers.  The  meeting  and  the  noble  bearing  of 
the  King  left  an  abiding  impression,  for  Maurice  always 
venerated  his  memory. 

Prince  Eugene's  campaign  against  the  Turks  was  an 
irresistible  temptation.  Maurice  was  one  of  the  last  of 
the  princes  and  young  nobles  who  flocked  to  the  Prince's 
camp,  and  he  was  the  last  to  take  reluctant  leave  when 
he  saw  no  hope  of  further  distinction.  He  had  come  in 
time  for  the  siege  of  Belgrade.  Before  the  great  battle  he 
lost  no  opportunity  of  being  out  with  the  light  horse  who 
faced  the  clouds  of  skirmishing  Spahis,  and  again  there 
was  many  an  occasion  to  rebuke  him  for  his  rashness.  His 
father  had  the  more  readily  given  him  permission  to  go  to 
the  Danube,  that  the  hot-headed  youth  had  got  into  hot 
water  at  Dresden.  The  death  of  the  Electress  Dowager 
had  lost  him  a  powerful  protectress,  who  had  always  taken 
his  part  against  the  minister  who  had  the  ear  of  the  King 
and  was  the  inveterate  enemy  of  Saxe  and  his  mother. 
There  were  incessant  complaints  from  his  wife,  to  whom 
he   had   given   too   good   cause   of  jealousy.       Their   cool 


214  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

relations  had  ended  in  mutual  aversion,  and  in  1720 
Maurice  took  flight  for  the  congenial  Paris  of  the  Regency. 
He  was  a  man  after  the  Regent's  own  heart,  and  soon 
ranked  high  among  his  roues.  Excelling  all  his  rivals  in 
the  success  and  excess  of  his  amours,  no  one  of  them  drank 
or  played  deeper,  and  the  recklessness  of  his  gambling  was 
the  more  admired  that  his  means  were  notoriously  limited. 
Yet  with  his  folly  was  mingled  much  worldly  wisdom. 
The  Regent  offered  his  joyous  boon-companion  employ- 
ment in  France,  Maurice  answered  very  sensibly  that 
there  was  nothing  he  should  desire  more,  but  he  must  first 
have  the  sanction  of  his  father.  The  sanction  implied  the 
means  of  keeping  up  a  suitable  establishment,  and  Maurice 
went  to  Dresden  to  obtain  it.  The  Regent  by  way  of  re- 
commending the  request,  paid  him  the  extraordinary  com- 
pliment of  giving  him  the  brevet  of  Marechal  de  Camp,  as 
an  earnest  of  what  he  might  expect  if  the  errand  to  Dresden 
were  successful. 

Matters  did  not  arrange  themselves  so  easily  as  Saxe 
would  have  desired.  The  King  made  many  sensible 
objections,  though  he  does  not  seem  to  have  laid  stress  on 
the  renunciation  of  German  nationality.  Two  years  were 
to  pass  before  the  return  to  France,  and  it  was  partly 
delayed  by  his  fixed  determination  to  get  rid  of  his  wife. 
Seldom  has  a  divorce  been  carried  out  on  such  terms, 
though  they  were  entirely  in  keeping  with  his  character. 
Divorce  could  only  be  granted  on  proof  of  adultery,  and 
the  guilty  party  incurred  the  death  penalty.  The  lawyers 
saw  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty.  Maurice  took  the  matter 
into  his  own  hand  :  was  caught  in  flagrant  ddit,  divorced, 
duly  condemned  by  the  courts,  and  pardoned  by  the  gracious 


MARSHAL   SAXE  215 

mercy  of  the  sovereign.  Back  in  Paris  in  the  spring  of 
1722,  he  found  none  of  the  foreign  regiments  vacant,  so 
he  bought  the  regiment  of  Spar,  which  was  sold  him  dear, 
and  began  immediately  to  reform  it  and  remodel  the 
system  on  that  which  had  answered  so  well  with  his  corps 
in  Saxony.  But  France  being  then  in  an  interlude  of 
peace,  for  three  years  while  keeping  open  house  and 
maintaining  his  reputation  for  dissipation  among  the 
most  debauched,  he  amused  what  leisure  he  could  spare 
from  folly  in  prosecuting  his  studies  in  the  science 
of  war. 

Events  which  gave  him  the  chance  of  his  life  roused 
him  from  his  lethargy.  In  December  1725  Ferdinand  of 
Courland,  last  male  of  the  old  ducal  dynasty,  fell  danger- 
ously ill.  Courland  was  a  sovereign  state,  though  de- 
pending on  Poland,  and  now  it  was  rumoured  that  the 
Polish  Diet  had  decided  to  annex  it.  Patriotism  and 
religion  in  Courland  were  alike  alarmed.  The  Lutherans 
would  be  subjected  to  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  and  the 
State  would  be  split  into  Palatinates  ruled  by  popish 
Palatines,  The  Courland  Diet  hastily  assembled  to  elect 
an  adjunct  and  successor  to  their  moribund  Duke.  It  is 
doubtful  by  whom  the  idea  of  Saxe's  candidature  was 
broached  ;  some  say  by  Brakel,  a  patriotic  Courlander ; 
others  by  Lefort,  the  scheming  Saxon  envoy  at  St.  Peters- 
burg. Saxe  grasped  gladly  at  the  proposal.  The  Cour- 
landers  never  doubted  that  it  would  be  agreeable  to  his 
father,  as  it  was  ;  but  they  hardly  reckoned  with  the 
opposition  of  the  Polish  Diet.  However,  Saxe  having 
assured  himself  of  his  father's  consent,  hastened  to  Mittau, 
the  capital  of  the  duchy.      The   Diet  welcomed  him  with 


2i6  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

open  arms,  and  the  populace  cheered  him  to  the  echo 
when  he  rode  through  the  streets.  He  came  with  the 
reputation  of  the  most  briUiant  hbertine  and  dashing 
officer  of  the  day,  which  recommended  him  to  the  good 
graces  of  Anne,  daughter  of  the  elder  brother  of  Peter  the 
Great  and  widow  of  the  late  Duke.  Anne  was  generally 
beloved,  and  had  great  influence.  The  gallant  adventurer 
probably  never  had  an  idea  of  marrying  her,  nevertheless 
he  made  proposals  in  form,  and  was  conditionally  accepted. 
Meantime  he  had  been  taking  more  active  measures.  The 
sinews  of  war  had  been  found  by  a  joint-stock  company 
of  French  speculators,  and  his  devoted  mistress,  the  famous 
actress,  Adrienne  le  Couvreur,  had  contributed  the  whole 
of  her  plate  and  jewels.  The  fund  gave  out  at  Liege,  where 
recruiting  had  been  going  briskly  forward,  but  not  before 
800  men  had  been  enlisted.  When  his  recruits  reached 
Mittau,  Saxe  had  announced  the  confirmation  of  his  election 
— formally  to  the  Polish  Primate,  secretly,  with  all  con- 
fidential details,  to  his  father.  Meantime,  however,  the 
match  with  Anne  had  miscarried,  if  it  had  ever  been 
seriously  intended.  Another  Russian  princess  was  in  the 
marriage  market,  and  the  indefatigable  Lefort  had  changed 
his  views.  He  wrote  from  St.  Petersburg,  painting  in 
glowing  colours  the  charms  of  the  Princess  Elizabeth,  and 
protesting  that  she  was  as  much  in  love  with  Saxe,  or  with 
his  reputation,  as  the  Duchess  Anne.  Never  did  a  man  of 
such  boundless  ambition  more  narrowly  miss  a  pinnacle  of 
greatness  to  which  even  Saxe  had  never  aspired.  He  had 
the  chance  of  marriage  with  either  of  two  future  Empresses  : 
he  might  have  been  the  Tsar,  or  at  least  the  omnipotent 
dictator  of  Muscovy.     He  hesitated  with  no  fixed  inten- 


MARSHAL   SAXE  217 

tions,  and  so  slipped  between  the  two  stools.  For  the 
moment  he  was  leaning  upon  the  Duchess  Anne,  and  went 
to  Warsaw  instead  of  to  St.  Petersburg. 

The  King  secretly  favoured  him  ;  the  Polish  Diet  was 
firm  against  the  candidature.  His  illegitimate  sisters, 
canvassing  actively  for  him,  did  him  the  more  harm  that 
their  influence  was  great.  Polish  patriots  raised  the  cry 
that  the  King,  having  bled  the  treasury  to  enrich  his 
bastards,  now  proposed  to  alienate  Pohsh  possessions  to 
create  principalities  for  them.  Augustus  had  no  idea  of 
risking  his  crown  that  Maurice  might  be  Duke  of  Cour- 
land.  He  had  given  his  son  letters  for  the  Empress 
Catherine,  then  he  reconsidered  his  decision.  Maurice  was 
stopped  on  the  point  of  starting,  and  when  told  that  the 
royal  order  was  imperative,  he  said  he  had  no  mind  to 
disobey,  but  if  the  journey  were  countermanded  all  was 
lost.  And  so  it  proved.  He  set  out  all  the  same,  but  it 
was  to  carry  on  the  campaign  in  Courland.  He  was  still 
the  favourite  of  the  fickle  Courlanders,  but  a  formidable 
Russian  candidate  was  in  the  field  after  sundry  others  of 
princely  birth  had  been  rejected.  The  all-powerful  Men- 
schikoff  was  at  Riga  to  urge  his  own  cause,  and  had  brought 
12,000  soldiers  to  back  him.  He  pressed  his  claims  with 
threats  rather  than  flatteries.  Speaking  as  the  mouthpiece 
of  his  mistress,  he  threatened  the  Marshal  of  the  Diet  and 
the  leading  members  with  a  journey  to  Siberia  if  they  did 
not  annul  the  election  of  Maurice.  Saxe,  on  his  part, 
exclaimed  bitterly  that  he  had  found  open  arms,  but  no 
open  purses.  His  money  had  run  short,  and  he  had  only 
a  few  squadrons  of  mercenary  dragoons.  Menschikoff  sent 
the  Diet  an  ultimatum  when  Maurice  was  vainly  urging 


21 8  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

them  to  vigorous  defence.  But  the  Russian  was  a  man  of 
action,  as  Saxe  had  reason  to  know. 

He  was  in  his  quarters,  and  deep  in  an  embarrassing 
letter  from  the  Primate  of  Poland,  when  he  was  disturbed 
by  a  stir  in  the  street.  He  looked  out,  to  see  the  house 
beset  by  soldiers.  He  realised  at  once  that  it  was  a  coup 
of  his  enemy,  and  made  preparations  for  defence  as  on 
the  former  occasion  at  Crachnitz.  With  his  little  garrison 
of  sixty  men  he  made  determined  resistance,  till  the  firing 
and  the  clamour  had  roused  the  town.  The  citizens  rushed 
to  arms,  the  enamoured  Duchess  sent  her  guards  to  his 
help,  and  Menschikoff's  baffled  800  beat  a  retreat.  It  was 
a  near  thing,  for  undoubtedly  had  Maurice  been  taken,  he 
would  have  had  summary  despatch  to  Siberia,  and  would 
probably  have  happened  to  die  en  route.  As  it  was,  he 
was  landed  in  another  complication,  for,  as  his  quarters 
had  suffered  severely  in  the  assault,  the  Duchess  insisted 
on  housing  him  in  her  palace. 

The  Polish  Diet  had  summoned  him  for  contumacy  ; 
on  his  declining  to  appear  as  owing  no  allegiance  to  it, 
he  had  been  outlawed  and  a  price  set  upon  his  head.  The 
sentence  sat  lightly  on  him.  He  went  to  Dresden,  got 
some  money  there,  and,  returning  to  Mittau,  raised  a  body- 
guard of  a  few  hundreds.  It  was  money  wasted,  for  the 
Polish  Diet  sent  commissioners  charged  to  have  him  arrested, 
and  he  could  put  no  faith  in  the  constancy  of  the  Cour- 
landers.  He  picked  up  the  Flemish  troopers  he  had  left 
at  Dantzic,  and,  taking  shipping  for  the  island  of  Usmaiz, 
set  to  work  to  fortify  it.  The  death  of  the  Empress 
Catherine  left  the  Regent  Menschikoff  for  the  moment 
master  of  Russia,  and  made  him  indifferent  to  the  dukedom 


MARSHAL   SAXE  219 

of  Courland.  It  changed  nothing  so  far  as  Saxe  was  con- 
cerned. A  declaration  dictated  to  the  young  Tsar  and 
addressed  to  the  Diet  suggested  a  choice  of  candidates 
from  which  Saxe  was  excluded.  Virtually  a  command,  it 
was  enforced  by  a  Russian  army.  The  stroke  was  decisive. 
Saxe  had  but  a  handful  of  troops,  his  credit  was  exhausted, 
and  he  was  out  of  the  good  graces  of  the  Duchess  Anne  ; 
yet,  characteristically,  though  he  beat  a  retreat,  he  did 
not  altogether  despair.  The  death  of  young  Peter  and  the 
unexpected  elevation  of  the  Duchess  to  the  Russian  throne 
revived  his  drooping  hopes.  But  his  amours,  carried  on, 
and  scarcely  sought  to  be  concealed,  under  the  roof  of  the 
woman  who  had  been  foolishly  in  love  with  him,  were 
neither  to  be  forgotten  nor  forgiven.  Anne  was  implacable, 
though  his  agents  strove  hard  to  conciliate  her. 

Dissipating  in  Paris  in  1732,  his  excesses  brought  on  a 
serious  illness.  During  his  slow  recovery  he  devoted  his 
time  to  the  composition  of  the  very  remarkable  "  Reveries." 
They  show  the  man  as  he  might  have  been  had  he  con- 
centrated himself  on  his  grand  passion  of  ambition,  in 
place  of  indulging  in  a  multiplicity  of  those  fugitive  amours, 
where  he  generally,  as  was  his  fashion,  took  the  place  by 
storm.  They  were  wonderful  studies  of  the  science  of  war, 
where  the  practical  blends  with  the  sentimental  or  romantic. 
They  anticipate  the  modern  idea  of  bringing  the  whole 
manhood  of  a  nation  under  arms  instead  of  recruiting  the 
ranks  from  mercenaries  and  the  scum  of  the  populace.  All 
for  improvised  redoubts,  he  condemns  the  elaborate  en- 
trenchments and  fortified  camps  then  universally  in  vogue, 
saying  that  with  the  best  troops  in  the  world  they  bring 
apprehension  of  defeat  in  place  of  confidence  of  victory. 


220  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

He  anticipated  the  irresistible  elan  the  great  Frederick  gave 
to  his  armies — though  the  abuse  of  these  tactics  sometimes 
cost  the  Prussians  dear — and  the  advances  in  echelon,  super- 
seding column-shock,  which  staggered  generals  of  the  older 
school  and  compensated  for  inferiority  in  numbers.  And 
descending  to  details,  he  denounced  the  showy  but  unservice- 
able uniforms,  unfitted  alike  for  work  and  rough  weather, 
parsimoniously  doled  out  at  long  intervals  by  captains 
who  filled  their  pockets  at  the  cost  of  their  companies. 

The  death  of  his  father  broke  one  of  the  strongest  ties 
which  still  held  him  to  the  land  of  his  birth.  It  did  more, 
for  the  vacancy  embroiled  the  affairs  of  Europe.  France, 
in  spite  of  the  pacific  efforts  of  Fleury,  on  an  understanding 
for  division  of  the  spoils  with  Spain  and  Savoy,  heedlessly 
plunged  into  war  out  of  sheer  jealousy  of  Austria.  But 
the  triumvirate  of  Powers  was  far  from  the  Polish  frontier, 
and  the  Saxon  Elector's  claims  to  the  paternal  succession 
were  supported  by  his  powerful  neighbours.  It  shows  the 
estimate  in  which  Saxe's  military  talents  were  already 
held,  that  his  brother  offered  him  the  command  of  the 
Saxon  army.  It  was  a  tempting  offer,  but,  whatever  the 
reason,  it  was  declined.  Probably  Saxe  was  already  a 
Frenchman  at  heart,  seeing  broader  fields  for  his  ambition 
in  France  than  in  Poland. 

He  returned  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  his  regi- 
ment. He  was  with  Berwick  on  the  Rhine  and  with 
Belleisle  on  the  Moselle.  Everywhere  he  displayed  his 
reckless  daring  and  the  talent  that  was  more  highly  appre- 
ciated. When  Belleisle  was  besieging  Coblenz  the  slow 
operations  palled  on  him  ;  he  asked  and  obtained  leave  to 
join  Berwick,  who  was  advancing  to  drive  the  Imperialists 


MARSHAL   SAXE  221 

out  of  their  lines  at  Etlingen.  Berwick  received  him  with 
a  flattering  compUment.  "  Count,  I  was  going  to  ask 
M.  de  Noailles  for  3000  men,  but  you  alone  are  worth  more 
to  me  than  that  reinforcement."  The  speech  was  followed 
by  another  compliment  more  to  Saxe's  tastes,  for  he  was 
given  a  detachment  of  grenadiers,  with  orders  for  an  imme- 
diate onslaught  on  the  lines.  He  forced  the  positions  of 
the  enemy,  captured  their  guns  on  that  side,  and  thereby 
decided  the  result  of  the  operations.  It  would  be  tedious 
to  recount  all  the  exploits  where  he  would  seem  to  have 
risked  himself  under  the  safeguard  of  a  special  Providence. 
For  special  gallantry  at  Philipsbourg,  following  on  the 
affair  of  Etlingen,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
General.  When  he  returned  to  Paris  for  the  winter,  he  had 
been  preceded  by  Belleisle,  who  had  been  generous  in  his 
praises  of  the  man  of  whom  d'Asfeldt,  who  had  succeeded 
Berwick,  had  spoken  as  his  right  hand. 

Peace  sent  him  back  to  his  studies  and  his  loves.  There 
were  fetes  and  festivities  at  the  betrothal  of  a  French 
princess  to  Don  Philip  of  Spain.  At  a  hunting  luncheon 
at  Chantilly  the  son  of  Augustus  the  Strong  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  himself  the  heir  of  his  father's  strength. 
Corkscrews  had  been  forgotten.  Saxe  took  a  tenpenny 
nail,  and  twisting  it  round  his  finger,  drew  all  the  corks. 
Indeed,  when  halting  at  a  village,  he  is  said  once  to  have 
astonished  the  rustics  by  snapping  half-a-dozen  of  horse- 
shoes while  the  farrier  was  shoeing  his  horse.  The  garrison 
of  Paris  at  that  time  was  perpetually  getting  into  trouble 
with  the  burghers  on  whom  they  were  billeted.  Always 
interested  in  military  discipline,  Saxe  submitted  a  paper 
to   the    Minister   of   War,    recommending   a   novelty— the 


222  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

building  of  barracks.  The  minute  was  approved,  but  it 
was  shelved  through  the  practical  difficulty  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  Guards  were  married  men  with  families — a 
strong  argument,  as  Saxe  remarked,  for  his  own  system  of 
recruiting.  Perhaps  the  most  flattering  tribute  he  ever 
received  was  in  1740,  when,  in  course  of  a  tour  in  the  south, 
he  visited  Toulon.  Admiral  Matthews,  of  court-martial 
notoriety,  was  then  blockading  the  port.  Count  Saxe  asked 
the  Admiral's  permission  to  view  the  British  fleet.  The 
Admiral  sent  his  own  galley  to  convey  the  illustrious  guest. 
The  fleet,  dressed  out  in  colours,  received  him  with  a 
general  salute.  There  was  a  grand  banquet  on  board  the 
flagship ;  the  Kings  of  France  and  England  were  re- 
peatedly toasted,  and  each  time  the  glasses  were  emptied 
there  was  a  salvo  from  all  the  guns  of  the  ships. 

That  year  saw  almost  simultaneously  the  deaths  of  the 
Emperor  Charles  and  the  Empress  Anne.  Saxe,  with  his 
spasmodic  tenacity,  had  never  lost  sight  of  the  ducal  crown 
of  Courland.  The  latter  event,  with  the  fall  of  his  enemy, 
the  omnipotent  Biron,  sent  him  incognito  to  St.  Petersburg 
to  strive  to  knit  up  the  broken  threads  of  the  old  intrigues. 
He  came  back  disappointed  from  a  bootless  errand  to 
gather  fresh  laurels  in  new  fields.  The  death  of  Charles 
had  given  the  signal  for  war,  reviving  the  eternal  animosity 
between  Bourbon  and  Hapsburg.  France,  as  before,  had 
found  an  ally  in  the  Elector  of  Bavaria,  who  was  advancing 
pretensions  of  his  own  to  the  Empire.  In  August  1741 
Saxe  joined  the  alhed  army  under  the  Elector  in  Alsace. 
Though  there  were  some  sharp  skirmishes,  the  march  to 
St.  Polten  on  the  Danube  was  rather  a  military  promenade. 
Then  the  alarm  in  the  Kaiserstadt  was  relieved  by  the 


MARSHAL  SAXE  223 

news  that  the  victorious  advance  had  been  diverted  to 
Bohemia.  On  the  23rd  of  October,  Saxe  with  the  van- 
guard had  occupied  Budweis.  At  the  same  time  the 
Prussians  and  Saxons  were  entering  Bohemia  from  the 
north.  The  Elector  had  only  been  feinting  on  Vienna,  and 
Maria  Theresa,  suddenly  undeceived,  was  hurrying  belated 
succours  into  Bohemia.  Meanwhile  the  Elector  was  within 
striking  distance  of  Prague,  and  had  sent  the  governor  a 
summons. 

The  answer  was  that  he  could  not  be  expected  to 
surrender  before  trenches  had  been  opened  or  a  cannon 
fired.  The  Elector  responded  by  an  attack,  without  wait- 
ing for  his  artillery.  There  was  a  feint  on  one  side  to 
divert  attention  ;  on  another  the  actual  onslaught  was 
entrusted  to  Saxe.  He  led  it  with  his  accustomed  daring, 
but  has  certainly  been  over-praised  It  cannot  have  been 
a  very  serious  affair,  when  not  a  Frenchman  was  killed 
and  only  two  were  wounded.  However,  he  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  city,  and  had  taken  over  3000  prisoners,  when 
the  feigned  attack,  changing  to  a  real  one,  carried  it 
effectually  from  the  other  side.  Next  morning,  as  master 
of  the  place,  he  presented  the  keys  to  the  Elector.  The 
Bavarian  had  a  welcome  from  the  nobles,  and  was  solemnly 
crowned.  His  reply  to  Saxe's  congratulations  was  sarcastic, 
epigrammatic,  and  prophetic.  Doubtless  he  remembered 
the  unfortunate  Winter-King.  "  Yes,  I  am  King  of 
Bohemia  as  you  are  Duke  of  Courland."  He  was  to  wear 
another  illusory  diadem  when  elected  Emperor  in  the 
Imperial  Diet  at  Frankfort,  with  the  style  of  Charles  VII. 
The  war  went  on.  Emperor  or  Elector,  he  withdrew  to 
the  Lower  Palatinate,  and  when,  after  its  suspension  through 


224  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  winter  it  recommenced  in  the  spring,  Saxe  ^vas  with 
Marshal  BrogHe  in  Bohemia.  He  was  detached  with  12,000 
men  to  assail  the  important  fortress  of  Eger — memorable 
in  the  fall  of  Wallenstein — where  the  Austrians  had  their 
arsenal  and  magazines.  Eger  capitulated,  though  it  was 
deemed  so  strong  that  Prince  Charles  had  not  troubled  to 
march  to  its  relief,  and  its  fall  raised  Saxe's  reputation 
far  higher  than  the  somewhat  theatrical  escalade  of  the 
fortifications  of  Prague. 

Then  a  political  revolution  gave  check  to  the  French 
and  Bavarians.  Frederick  of  Prussia  made  peace  with  the 
Queen  of  Hungary,  carrying  the  Saxons  along  with  him. 
To  the  remonstrances  of  the  French  envoy,  he  cynically 
replied  that  with  Silesia  he  had  got  everything  he  wanted. 
The  Queen  could  turn  her  whole  strength  against  the 
invaders.  Swarms  of  Croats,  Uhlans,  and  Pandours  ravaged 
Bavaria.  The  evacuation  of  Bohemia  became  inevitable. 
The  French  army  encamped  under  the  batteries  of  Prague 
began  to  bethink  themselves  of  making  terms.  Versailles 
in  alarm  gave  the  generals  full  powers,  but  the  Austrians 
saw  their  advantage  and  pressed  it.  The  tables  were 
turned,  and  now  22,000  Frenchmen  were  to  be  beleaguered 
in  Prague.  They  held  out  gallantly,  but  their  sallies  were 
repulsed,  and  provisions  rose  to  famine  prices.  News  of 
the  advance  of  Marshal  Maillebois  gave  them  a  breathing 
space  ;  Broglie  broke  out  with  half  the  garrison  to  make 
a  junction  with  Maillebois,  which  he  never  effected  ;  Belle- 
isle,  finding  the  situation  desperate,  left  with  the  rest, 
keeping  his  secret  to  the  last  moment,  and  reaching  Eger 
in  safety  with  baggage  and  artillery.  With  the  glorious 
defence  and  the  admirably  conducted  retreats  which  saved 


MARSHAL   SAXE  225 

the  wrecks  of  the  once  victorious  army,  Saxe  was  not  con- 
cerned. He  had  gone  to  Dresden  and  thence  to  St.  Peters- 
burg on  private  business,  and  on  his  return  as  Prague 
was  straitly  shut  up,  he  joined  Maillebois  on  the  Danube. 
Though  BrogHe  had  failed  in  the  junction  with  Maillebois 
he  made  his  way  personally  by  a  circuitous  route  to  that 
Marshal's  headquarters  and  assumed  the  command.  He 
found  Maillebois'  forces  almost  in  as  bad  a  state  as  his 
own,  and  wisely,  perhaps,  as  soon  as  possible  withdrew 
into  winter  quarters  between  the  Inn  and  the  Iser,  sending 
Saxe  into  cantonments  beyond  the  Danube.  The  fiery 
spirit  of  Saxe  was  disgusted  at  the  evacuation  of  Bohemia 
and  the  abandoning  of  Eger,  which  he  regarded  as  a  con- 
quest of  his  own.  He  wrote  his  remonstrances  to  Broglie 
in  a  tone  rather  that  of  an  equal  or  superior  than  of  a 
subordinate,  and  Broglie,  who  was  a  martinet  and  tenacious 
of  purpose,  very  naturally  disregarded  them. 

In  1743,  when  King  Louis  was  eager  to  retrieve  his  defeats 
and  misfortunes,  it  was  a  question  of  enrolling  civic  militia 
and  raising  new  armies.  Saxe,  who  had  had  reason  to 
appreciate  the  Austrian  light  horse,  had  undertaken  to 
recruit  a  regiment  of  Uhlans.  But  so  great  was  the  con- 
fidence Louis  reposed  in  him,  that  to  smooth  the  way  to 
his  advancement  he  withdrew  all  officers  senior  to  him 
from  the  army  in  Bavaria.  Broglie  was  still  general-in- 
chief,  but  Saxe  had  the  command  in  the  Upper  Palatinate. 
When  Dettingen  had  been  fought  and  lost,  the  armies  of 
Broglie  and  Noailles  were  united  to  mount  guard  on  the 
Rhine.  Saxe  had  to  yield  his  command  to  Marshal  Coigny, 
but  with  the  great  exception  of  Dettingen,  which  but  for 
the  folly  of  the  Duke  de  Grammont  should  have  been  a 


2  26  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

French  victory,   there  was  nothing  in   the  campaigns  of 
1743  to  respond  to  the  formidable  preparations. 

Nor  was  the  campaign  of  1745  in  the  Austrian  Nether- 
lands more  pregnant  with  decisive  results.  Saxe,  who  was 
to  second  De  Noailles,  had  been  consulted  and  had  sketched 
out  a  programme.  But  before  the  performance  came  off, 
there  was  an  interlude  and  a  fiasco.  The  advisers  of  Louis 
were  persuaded  by  Jacobite  agents  that  the  English  were 
longing  for  the  return  of  the  Stewarts,  and  that  an  in- 
vasion might  be  successful.  So  at  least  it  has  been 
supposed,  although  there  are  indications  that  the  opera- 
tions were  nothing  more  than  a  feint.  Prince  Charles 
Edward  was  invited  from  Rome  to  Paris.  Fifteen  thou- 
sand men  were  mustered  on  the  Channel  to  embark  at 
Dunkirk.  Saxe  was  to  have  the  command,  with  secret 
orders  to  land  them  on  the  Thames,  when  London  and 
Kent  were  to  receive  them  with  acclamations.  As  to  that, 
it  does  not  appear  that  Saxe  was  consulted.  The  squadron 
which  was  to  clear  the  Channel  was  to  be  under  Admiral 
de  Roquefeuille.  He  sailed  from  Brest,  to  be  baffled  by 
contrary  winds,  and  meantime  the  British  cruisers  had 
brought  warnings  of  his  movements.  Seeing  no  enemies, 
he  sent  messages  to  Dunkirk,  urging  Saxe  to  embark  his 
men  with  all  speed.  Half  the  corps  of  invasion,  with 
masses  of  war  material,  were  hurried  on  board  the  trans- 
ports, Saxe  and  the  Young  Chevalier  being  in  the  same 
ship.  But  meantime  De  Roquefeuille's  frigates  had  told 
him  that  Sir  John  Norris  had  only  shifted  from  Spithead 
to  the  Downs,  and  that  his  fleet  was  actually  bearing  down 
on  the  French  squadron.  De  Roquefeuille  crowded  all 
sail  for  Brest ;    his  fleet  was  greatly  outnumbered  by  the 


MARSHAL   SAXE  227 

other  ;  light  winds  freshened  to  a  gale,  and  the  gale  rose 
to  a  storm.  No  news  of  his  flight  had  reached  the  trans- 
ports, but  perhaps  the  storm  which  sent  several  to  the 
bottom  saved  them  from  worse  disaster.  Saxe  and  the 
survivors  were  landed  and  the  expedition  was  at  an  end. 

For  four  years,  notwithstanding  liberal  English  sub- 
sidies, the  battle  of  Dettingen,  and  this  hostile  expedition, 
France  and  Britain  had  been  nominally  at  peace.  The 
year  1744  opened  with  formal  declarations  of  war.  The 
French  king  was  to  take  the  field  in  person  ;  Noailles  had 
trumped  the  tricks  of  those  who  were  intriguing  against 
him,  and  his  friend  and  pupil  Saxe  at  last  received  the 
baton  of  Marshal.  The  army  of  invasion  was  in  two  parts  ; 
Noailles  with  one  was  to  push  the  sieges  of  the  Flemish 
fortresses,  and  to  Saxe  was  entrusted  the  covering  opera- 
tions. With  the  eye  of  a  great  strategist  he  chose  his 
position  at  Courtrai.  There  he  made  his  works  unassailable, 
while  at  the  same  time  he  could  make  diversions  in  all 
directions  to  distract  the  attentions  of  the  allies  to  De 
Noailles.  The  French  generals  were  aided,  no  doubt,  by 
the  dissensions  in  the  hostile  camp.  Marshal  Wade  was  a 
good  soldier,  but  no  genius,  and  he  had  neither  the  suave 
tact  nor  the  masterful  spirit  of  Marlborough.  He  was 
hampered  at  every  turn  by  his  Austrian  and  Dutch 
colleagues.  The  allies  everywhere  outnumbered  the  French 
by  three  to  two,  and  the  odds  became  infinitely  greater 
when  Prince  Charles  of  Lorraine  broke  into  Alsace,  draw- 
ing away  the  Due  d'Harcourt  with  his  strong  detachment. 
But  the  allies  dared  not  attempt  the  storm  of  Saxe's 
entrenchments,  nor  could  they  lure  him  out  to  offer  battle. 
The  enforced  inactivity  must  have  been  a  sore  strain  on 


228  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

his  fiery  temperament,  but  he  clung  to  Courtrai  and  his 
fixed  plan,  and  saved  a  perilous  situation  where  a  mistake 
might  have  meant  a  catastrophe.  His  persistence  starved 
the  allies  out,  forcing  them  to  withdraw,  and  it  was  famine 
at  last  which  compelled  him  to  abandon  Courtrai.  Perhaps 
the  happiest  of  his  menacing  demonstrations  was  when  he 
brought  his  enemies  to  a  point,  that  he  might  know  whether 
they  intended  to  retreat  or  attack,  and  when  it  was  im- 
perative that  his  own  action  should  be  guided  by  their 
decision.  Nor  was  the  time  while  in  the  lines  of  Courtrai 
wasted,  for  he  was  busily  drilling  his  troops  and  training 
them  to  the  disciplined  obedience  which  won  the  battle  of 
Fontenoy. 

In  1745  the  coalition  against  France  was  so  formidable 
that  Louis  would  willingly  have  signed  a  peace  —  the 
rather  that  the  deaths  of  the  shadowy  Emperor  Charles 
and  of  his  staunch  friend,  the  Bavarian  Elector,  had  left 
him  neither  reason  nor  pretext  for  interfering  in  German 
affairs.  The  young  Elector  had  deserted  him,  yielding  to 
force  majeure  and  an  Austrian  invasion.  So  the  King 
would  gladly  have  come  to  terms,  but  the  Queen  of 
Hungary  was  obdurate.  The  war  was  to  go  on  ;  the 
storm  was  to  burst  on  his  northern  fortresses,  and  the 
sole  question  was  which  was  to  be  attacked  first.  All  the 
allied  generals  had  been  changed  ;  the  youthful  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  eager  for  honour,  had  replaced  the  veteran 
Wade,  and  he  was  on  the  best  terms  with  his  colleagues. 
The  old  Austrian  Marshal  was  complaisant,  and  the  young 
Prince  of  Waldeck  was  venturesome  as  himself.  The 
danger  to  France  was  fully  realised,  and  for  once  the  back- 
biters  of  Versailles   were   silenced.     Saxe   was   nominated 


MARSHAL  SAXE  229 

commander-in-chief  with  universal  assent  or  acquiescence, 
and  the  Due  de  Noailles  set  a  noble  example  by  volun- 
teering to  serve  under  his  former  pupil.  At  the  critical 
moment  Saxe  again  paid  the  penalty  of  his  excesses,  and  was 
stretched  on  a  sick-bed.  But  the  spirit  and  the  love  of 
glory  triumphed  over  disease  ;  he  defied  the  doctors,  and 
set  out  for  Flanders,  saying  in  reply  to  remonstrances  that 
it  was  not  a  question  of  living  but  of  leaving.  When  he 
reached  his  headquarters  at  Maubeuge  he  was  still  so  ill 
that  he  had  to  be  carried  about  on  his  rounds  of  inspection 
in  a  litter.  Fortunately  he  found  a  canon  of  Cambrai  who 
put  him  on  a  regimen  which  soon  enabled  him  to  mount 
a  horse. 

His  strength  was  70,000  foot  and  25,000  horse.  His 
purpose  was  to  deceive  the  allies,  and  for  a  time  he  suc- 
ceeded. Making  a  show  of  menacing  Mons  in  force,  he 
marched  straight  upon  Tournai.  A  masterpiece  of  the 
science  of  Vauban,  it  was  one  of  the  most  formidable 
fortresses  in  Europe.  Tournai  was  to  be  the  stake  of  the 
battle  of  Fontenoy,  for  if  it  fell  it  opened  French  Hainault 
to  the  invader.  When  the  allies  began  to  realise  that  it 
was  the  real  objective  of  Saxe,  their  hesitation  had  wasted 
time,  and  they  were  delayed  besides  by  the  deluges  of  rain 
which  swamped  the  country  except  the  paved  chauss/es. 
They  marched  from  Brussels,  gathering  in  garrisons  on  the 
way,  and  the  march,  even  for  those  days,  was  a  miracle 
of  slowness.  Saxe,  with  prompt  knowledge  of  all  their 
movements,  had  ample  time  to  make  his  arrangements. 
His  position  before  Tournai,  naturally  strong,  was 
strengthened  according  to  the  rules  he  had  laid  down  in 
his  "  Reveries."    The  village  of  Fontenoy,  to  the  south  of  the 


230  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Scheldt,  was  at  once  recognised  on  both  sides  as  the  key 
of  the  defence.  From  the  first  it  was  the  aim  of  the  aUies 
to  carry  it  ;  of  the  French  to  hold  it  at  any  cost ;  and  at 
Fontenoy  the  battle  was  to  be  lost  or  won.  There  were 
ridges  stretching  thence  to  the  left  and  right.  That  to 
Saxe's  left,  from  Fontenoy  to  the  wood  of  Barri,  which 
the  allies  unfortunately  neglected  to  occupy  when  they  had 
the  opportunity,  was  620  yards  in  length.  The  ridge  on 
the  right  led  to  the  village  of  Antoing  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Scheldt  and  five  miles  from  Tournai.  Antoing  was 
also  in  the  woodlands,  and  was  protected  by  inundations, 
but  besides  that  it  was  formidably  entrenched ;  some  of  the 
cottages  were  levelled  to  make  plateaux  for  the  artillery, 
and  the  others  were  loopholed.  As  to  his  left  the  Marshal's 
mind  might  be  easy ;  it  was  covered  by  marshes  and 
almost  impenetrable  thickets.  Yet  with  his  usual  caution, 
ever3rwhere  he  had  thrown  out  advanced  pickets  and 
patrols  of  the  light  horse  of  the  regiment  of  his  trusted 
lieutenant  De  Grassins.  Saxe  had  no  great  faith — it  was 
always  a  weapon  used  against  him  by  his  detractors — in 
the  steadiness  of  Frenchmen  in  line  against  a  determined 
onset.  In  his  "  Reveries "  he  had  ridiculed  entrenched 
camps,  and  advocated  the  use  of  improvised  redoubts. 
At  Fontenoy  he  put  those  principles  in  practice.  Between 
Antoing  and  the  Barri  Wood  was  a  chain  of  redoubts,  three 
to  the  right  of  Fontenoy  and  as  many  to  the  left  of  it. 
They  were  connected  with  abattis  of  felled  timber.  All 
the  redoubts  were  heavily  armed  with  cannon  ;  but  the 
strongest  was  that  next  to  Fontenoy  on  the  left,  known  as 
the  redoubt  of  Eu  because  it  was  held  by  the  Eu  Regiment; 
for  the  passage  between  the  Eu  redoubt  and  Fontenoy  was 


MARSHAL  SAXE  231 

notoriously  the  weakest  point  in  the  defence.  Nor  did  the 
Marshal  neglect  to  secure  his  rear  or  his  retreat.  Twenty 
thousand  men  in  the  trenches  held  the  garrison  of  Tournai, 
and  two  fortified  bridges  had  been  thrown  across  the  river. 

Louis  himself  was  in  the  field,  and  unaccompanied  by 
ladies,  A  summons  sent  to  Douai  had  hastily  called  him 
to  the  front.  He  came,  and  for  once  he  showed  something 
of  manhood.  He  visited  the  sick  in  hospital ;  he  con- 
descended to  taste  the  ammunition  bread.  On  the  eve  of 
the  battle  he  rode  with  Saxe  along  the  lines,  hailed  by  voci- 
ferous shouts  of  "  Vive  le  Roi."  They  cheered  the  monarch, 
not  the  general,  but  it  was  a  striking  counterpart  of  the 
salvos  and  feux  de  bivouac  which  greeted  Napoleon  on  the 
eve  of  Austerhtz.  Saxe's  dispositions  had  been  made, 
though  in  some  trifling  respects  they  were  to  be  modified. 
The  pick  of  his  men  were  between  Fontenoy  and  the  Eu 
redoubt.  These  were  battalions  of  the  Regiment  of  Le 
Roi,  of  the  Gardes  Frangaise,  and  of  the  Gardes  Suisse. 
Behind  them  were  the  cavalry,  four  ranks  deep,  and  beyond 
these  again  the  famous  horse  of  the  Royal  Household. 
The  reserves  were  on  the  left  flank,  in  rear  of  the  wood  of 
Barri,  and  in  the  first  Hne  were  the  regiments  of  the  Irish 
Brigade,  mustering  nearly  4000  men. 

Late  on  the  9th  May  the  aflies  were  almost  in  touch 
with  the  French,  pitching  the  camp  on  the  heights  com- 
manding their  positions.  The  same  evening  the  generals 
rode  out  to  reconnoitre.  They  saw  the  ground  mapped 
out  below  them,  and  shaped  their  plans,  deciding  on  the 
true  point  of  attack.  As  a  preliminary  the  viflage  of 
Veyon,  a  fortified  advance  post  of  Fontenoy,  was  to  be 
taken,  and  that  was  done  on  the  following  morning.     They 


2  32  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

burned  another  fortified  hamlet  and  won  the  first  trick  of 
the  game. 

On  the  night  of  the  loth  both  armies  lay  on  their  arms. 
Broken   by   fatigue   and   scarcely   convalescent,   after   the 
long  promenade  on  horseback  with  the  King,  Saxe  retired 
not  to  his  tent  but  to  his  coach  to  snatch  some  necessary 
sleep.     All  his  preparations  have  now  been  made,  and  his 
50,000  are  behind  his  formidable  works.     For  himself,  he 
is  unable  to  mount  a  horse  ;    he  is  carried,  a  cripple,  from 
point  to  point,  suffering  acutely  from  dropsy  and  parched 
with  unquenchable  thirst.     The  allies,  on  their  side,  were 
early   astir ;    the   reveille   sounded  at   two,    and   at    four 
Cumberland  and  Count  Konigsegg  were  riding  along  their 
lines.     Cumberland  had  to   curb  his  impatience,   for  the 
battle-ground  was  veiled  in  a  heavy  mist.     His  simple  plan 
was  marked  out  for  him.     The  Dutch  and  Austrians  were 
to  assail  Antoing  on  the  left.     The  right  attack  was  en- 
trusted to  Colonel  Ingoldsby  of  the  Guards,   and  in  his 
brigade  were  the  Black  Watch  and  a  crack  Hanoverian 
regiment.     The  Duke  himself  was  to   strike  with  British 
and  Hanoverians  at  the  vital  gap  between  Fontenoy  and 
Veyon.     The  advance  should  have  been  simultaneous,  but 
it   was   not   till   six   that   the   sluggish   Ingoldsby   was   in 
motion.     Then  he  came  to  a  dead  halt  in  a  hollow  lane, 
between  Veyon  and  Barri  Wood.     He  sent  back  for  cannon 
and  he  had  them  ;   order  after  order  reached  him,  but  still 
he    stuck    fast    or    only    moved    forward    to    halt    again. 
Cumberland  galloped  off  in  person  to  discover  the  cause 
of  the  delays,  but  nothing  came  of  his  conversation  with 
Ingoldsby.     The   brigade   was   still   in   that   hollow   lane, 
though  the  guns  had  been  searching  the  wood  of  Barri, 


MARSHAL  SAXE  233 

which  was  held  in  doubtful  force,  but  strongly  defended 
by  the  abattis.  Cumberland  would  wait  no  longer.  Four 
cannon  shot  gave  the  expected  signal.  The  Dutch  cavalry 
on  the  left  advanced  on  Fontenoy  and  Antoing,  but  en- 
countered such  a  scorching  fire  that  they  turned  bridle  and 
rode  back.  Nor  had  the  British  horsemen  to  the  right  of 
the  centre  attack  any  better  fortune.  No  sooner  had  they 
emerged  from  the  street  of  Veyon  than  they  were  beaten 
back  by  the  murderous  storm  of  grape  and  round  shot 
from  the  batteries  of  Fontenoy  and  the  redoubt  of  Eu. 
Re-formed  by  their  leaders  in  the  rear  of  the  infantry, 
Cumberland  never  asked  anything  of  them  till  too  late, 
and  thenceforth  they  were  virtually  out  of  the  battle. 

All  the  work  was  left  to  the  central  attack,  directed  on 
the  points  whence  the  murderous  cannonade  was  con- 
verging, and  the  constancy  neither  of  the  chiefs  nor  their 
soldiers  was  shaken  by  the  discomfiture  on  either  flank. 
The  fiery  veteran  Ligonier  led  his  foot  over  the  track  of 
Campbell's  horse  through  the  street  of  Veyon.  When  they 
emerged,  as  the  cavalry  had  emerged,  into  the  blasting  fire, 
they  deployed  and  formed  into  line  of  battle  as  coolly  as 
if  they  had  been  on  parade  at  Hounslow.  Yet  the  man- 
oeuvring was  slow  and  lasted  long  :  four  hours  had  elapsed 
before  they  were  in  array  of  battle.  At  last  began  the 
memorable  advance  of  the  immortal  column  of  Fontenoy. 
Ingoldsby  still  lagged,  and  both  columns  of  the  Dutch  and 
Austrian  infantry  had  recoiled  before  the  fire  from  Fontenoy, 
and  were  raked  besides  by  batteries  from  beyond  the 
Scheldt.  All  that  passed  had  only  hardened  the  deter- 
mination of  Cumberland.  The  gap  above  him  must  be 
forced,  and  the  redoubt  of  Eu  must  be  captured  at  any 


234  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

cost.  Then  he  abandoned  his  right  attack,  and  brought 
his  right  wing  along  the  slopes  under  the  incessant  fire, 
anticipating  a  movement  of  Wellington  at  Vittoria.  The 
Black  Watch  was  sent  to  the  left,  to  stiffen  the  Dutch,  who 
had  orders  to  try  again.  The  Prince  of  Waldeck  was  hot 
enough,  but  even  with  the  example  of  the  Highlanders  he 
could  not  animate  his  men.  The  Highlanders,  weary  of 
standing  helpless  under  a  galling  fire,  crossed  at  the  double, 
gave  a  lead  to  the  Dutch,  and  rushed  headlong  upon  the 
entrenchments  of  Fontenoy.  When  within  musket-shot 
they  fell  with  faces  on  the  ground,  escaped  the  volley  that 
passed  over  them,  and  tumbled  headlong  over  the  first 
breastwork.  Fronting  ranks  of  the  enemy  five  deep,  they 
had  no  choice  but  to  withdraw,  to  find  the  Dutch  who 
should  have  supported  them  already  out  of  the  action. 

Meantime  the  main  attack  was  progressing.  There 
were  16,000  of  them  in  the  column,  with  Cumberland  at 
their  head.  The  butcher  of  Culloden  might  be  execrated 
for  inhumanity,  but  no  man  could  ever  call  him  a  coward. 
The  ranks  were  riddled  by  the  fire  from  Fontenoy  in  front 
and  from  the  redoubt  on  flank.  The  men  were  literally 
mown  down  in  swaths  ;  but  still  the  gaps  refilled  and  the 
ranks  re-formed,  and  all  the  time,  with  men  harnessed  for 
horses,  they  were  dragging  twelve  field-pieces  up  the  ascent. 
Infantry  rushed  on  them  in  vain  ;  cavalry  were  hurled 
back  in  confusion.  When  they  topped  the  crest,  the 
French  stood  facing  them  within  thirty  paces.  Then  there 
was  a  charge.  The  French  were  taken  aback  at  sight  of 
the  cannon.  The  guns  belched  grape  among  them  at  close 
quarters,  the  musketeers  poured  in  a  deadly  volley  ;  the 
front  rank  of  the  enemy  is  said  to  have  gone  down  as  one 


MARSHAL  SAXE  235 

man  ;  the  files  behind  looked  back  over  their  shoulders  to 
see  their  cavalry  reserves  full  600  yards  in  the  rear  ;  they 
scattered,  and  the  d/bdcle  was  greeted  by  a  thunderous 
British  cheer. 

The  British  had  passed  the  batteries  on  either  side, 
and  stood  victorious  on  the  key  of  the  positions.  In  fact, 
the  battle  was  well-nigh  won  had  our  allies  done  their  duty 
and  had  the  cavalry  been  called  into  action  in  time.  So 
Saxe  believed,  and  for  a  moment  his  counsels  were  those 
of  despair.  Louis  and  his  son  had  been  watching  the  battle 
from  the  eminence  still  known  as  the  Gallows  Hill ;  Saxe 
sent  to  pray  them  to  save  themselves  beyond  the  Scheldt, 
which  both  declined  to  do.  On  the  contrary,  they  hastily 
called  a  council  of  war.  Owing  probably  to  the  advice 
of  Count  Lowendahl  it  was  resolved  to  make  a  supreme 
effort,  though  Fontenoy  had  already  exhausted  its  shot 
and  was  firing  blank  cartridge.  The  Household  Cavalry 
were  rallied  for  a  final  frontal  charge.  Thanks  to  some 
anonymous  inspiration,  guns  that  had  been  standing  idle 
were  brought  up  to  shower  grape  on  the  assailants.  There 
could  be  no  reply  from  our  own  batteries,  for  they  were 
enclosed  in  the  hollow  square  into  which  our  column  had 
been  formed.  As  the  Dutch  were  playing  simply  the  role 
of  spectators,  the  French  Marshal  could  withdraw  his 
regiments  on  the  right.  His  reserves,  and  notably  the 
Irish,  who  had  been  boihng  over  with  impatience  to  get  at 
their  hereditary  foes,  were  called  over  from  the  left.  The 
combined  attack  was  overwhelming  on  men  faint  with 
hunger  and  weary  with  unparalleled  exertions  and  hard 
fighting.  The  shattered  column,  reduced  by  5000,  yielded 
with  sullen  reluctance  to  irresistible  pressure.     The  retreat 


236  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

was  effected  with  the  same  perfect  disciphne  which  had 
marked  the  advance  ;  Fontenoy  brought  more  honour  to 
the  British  and  Hanoverians  than  many  a  glorious  victory  ; 
the  guns  dragged  up  the  hill  had  to  be  abandoned  for 
there  were  not  horses  to  bring  them  away,  but  no  colours 
were  lost,  and  the  French  made  few  prisoners. 

The  alHes  retired  to  Ath,  though  they  did  not  remain 
there.  The  French  were  not  slow  to  press  their  advantage. 
Saxe  has  been  censured  for  not  immediately  following  up 
the  retreat,  but  the  columns  showed  so  formidable  a  front 
that  it  would  have  been  hazardous  to  press  them  with  his 
shattered  battalions.  Moreover,  the  Dutch  had  taken  such 
excellent  care  of  themselves  that  they  had  some  20,000 
unbroken  men  on  his  right  flank.  Naturally  there  was 
great  jubilation  among  the  victors.  Not  only  had  they 
won  the  decisive  battle,  but  for  the  first  time  they  had 
beaten  the  English  in  a  fair  field.  As  the  King  had 
reviewed  the  ranks  on  the  eve  of  the  battle,  so  now  with 
the  Dauphin  he  rode  along  the  fines  to  stifi  more  vociferous 
cheering,  though  the  numbers  had  been  sadly  thinned  by 
death,  and  the  ridge  was  strewed  with  the  wounded.  One 
man  was  missing  from  his  brilliant  staff ;  Saxe  had  been 
borne  on  a  litter  to  his  tent,  for  with  the  relaxation  of  the 
strain  he  had  broken  down.  The  day  for  him  had  been  a 
triumph  of  energy  over  feebleness  and  pain.  Next  morning 
he  had  so  far  raUied  as  to  be  carried  in  his  wicker  chair 
into  the  royal  presence.  Kneefing,  he  ejaculated  in  falter- 
ing accents,  "  Sire,  I  have  lived  long  enough — I  have  lived 
to  see  your  Majesty  victorious."  Then,  glancing  round  on 
the  blood-stained  scene  of  the  reception,  he  said  :  "  Now, 
sire,  you  see  the  meaning  of  a  battle."     Louis,  overflowing 


MARSHAL   SAXE  237 

with  gratitude  for  once,  raised  the  hero,  and  embraced 
him  on  either  cheek.  Nor  did  his  gratitude  stop  there. 
He  deigned  to  address  the  Marshal  as  "  my  cousin  "  ;  by 
solemn  brevet,  with  many  gracious  preliminaries,  he  con- 
ferred on  him  and  on  his  wife,  should  he  marry,  the  privi- 
lege of  entry  into  the  Louvre  in  their  coaches,  and  to  the 
lady  the  right  of  the  seat  on  the  tabouret  in  presence  of 
their  Majesties  and  the  children  of  France.  But  there  were 
substantial  rewards  besides,  more  grateful  to  the  impecu- 
nious soldier  of  fortune  than  relaxations  of  court  etiquette. 
The  chateau  of  Chambord,  with  its  wide  domains,  was 
conferred  on  him  ;  there  were  additions  to  the  pensions 
he  already  enjoyed,  and  he  was  appointed  Governor  of 
Alsace  with  a  salary  of  120,000  livres. 

Tournai  held  out  for  a  httle  longer,  but  surrendered 
on  the  22nd  May.  The  fall  of  the  great  fortress  was 
followed  up  by  the  capture  of  Ghent,  by  the  surrender  of 
Bruges,  Oudenarde,  and  Ostend.  They  all  fell  to  Lowen- 
dahl,  by  far  the  ablest  of  Saxe's  lieutenants.  Finally  Ath, 
the  last  bulwark  of  West  Flanders,  succumbed,  and  the 
successive  shocks  to  British  prestige  were  felt  severely  in 
England.  Saxe,  though  incapable  of  great  effort,  had 
remained  with  the  army,  but  his  brain  was  active,  and  his 
presence  caused  the  allied  generals  much  anxiety.  As  the 
winter  approached,  their  strength  was  rapidly  weakened. 
Cumberland,  after  many  entreaties,  had  gone  to  take  com- 
mand against  the  Scottish  rebellion.  Waldeck  was  left  in 
charge,  with  a  slender  contingent  of  Hessians  under  Lord 
Dunmore.  He  looked  forward  to  a  peaceable  winter. 
Saxe,  as  he  knew,  with  his  marvellous  vitality  had  become 
another  man  ;   after  a  flying  visit  to  Paris  he  was  at  Ghent, 


238  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

indulging  in  all  manner  of  excesses,  making  volatile  love 
with  the  verve  of  the  roue  of  the  Regency,  and  having  the 
troupe  of  actors  who  generally  attended  him  playing  to 
crowded  houses.  On  a  sudden,  in  the  dead  of  the  Flemish 
winter,  news  came  to  Waldeck  that  his  enemy,  changing 
from  one  of  his  roles  to  the  other,  and  violating  all  the 
rules  of  war,  was  laying  siege  to  Brussels.  Brussels  capitu- 
lated, and  its  surrender  was  followed  by  the  capture  of 
Vilvorde  with  all  the  field-guns  and  magazines  of  the 
allies.  That  closed  the  brief  and  brilliant  winter  campaign. 
Saxe  was  back  again  in  Paris,  to  be  embraced  by  the  King 
and  to  be  applauded  to  the  echo  by  an  overflowing  house 
when  he  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  opera. 

Next  spring  the  King  would  again  willingly  have  made 
peace,  but  again  Maria  Theresa  would  hear  nothing  of  it. 
Charles  of  Lorraine  was  on  the  Rhine  with  50,000  Im- 
perialists. Saxe  was  in  the  field  again,  and  Louis  again 
came  to  the  Netherlands.  The  campaign  opened  with  the 
taking  of  Antwerp,  left  with  only  a  feeble  garrison.  Then 
came  the  capture  of  the  great  fortress  of  Namur,  only  four 
days  after  opening  the  trenches.  Meantime,  Charles  of 
Lorraine  was  drawing  near  and  Waldeck  had  been  rein- 
forced. Twenty  thousand  Hessians  and  Hanoverians  had 
joined  him  in  his  camp  at  Breda,  and  Ligonier  brought  back 
a  British  contingent  of  six  regiments  of  the  line  and  four 
of  cavalry.  The  allied  armies  effected  their  junction, 
though  too  late  to  save  Namur.  Their  purpose  was  to 
winter  in  Liege,  and  that  of  Saxe  to  force  them  back  across 
the  Meuse.  They  took  up  a  strong  position,  at  once  com- 
manding Liege  and  covering  Maestricht.  Then  Saxe,  who, 
though  habitually  cautious,  could  nevertheless  be  audacious 


MARSHAL   SAXE  239 

in  an  emergency,  determined  to  bring  on  a  battle.  All 
told,  the  allies  mustered  100,000,  but  they  stretched  in  thin, 
straggling  formation  along  a  line  of  wooded  hills,  cut  up 
by  deep  ravines  or  impracticable  gullies  ;  and  in  fact  the 
Austrians  on  the  extreme  left,  observed  by  a  detached 
body  of  French,  were  virtually  out  of  the  fighting. 

On  October  11  the  battle  began  with  a  French  attack 
on  the  left,  which,  storming  through  a  suburb  of  Liege, 
turned  the  left  flank  of  the  alhes.  The  Dutch,  as  at  Fon- 
tenoy,  made  but  indifferent  resistance.  Saxe's  attack  on 
the  centre  was  delayed  by  the  perverse  obstinacy  of  Count 
Clermont,  but  early  in  the  afternoon  his  twelve  brigades 
rushed  impetuously  forward  in  three  columns.  They 
were  driven  back  by  tremendous  discharges  of  artillery  and 
musketry.  Saxe  had  exposed  himself  hke  any  private, 
and  his  spirit  animated  his  soldiers  for  another  advance. 
The  second  attempt,  with  a  concentration  of  superior 
numbers,  proved  successful,  the  villages  of  Rocoux  and 
Vorax  were  carried,  and  the  allied  centre  was  broken. 
Still  the  British  and  the  German  contingents  under  the 
gallant  Ligonier  retired  slowly,  offering  a  determined  resist- 
ance. But  French  colours  were  showing  on  the  heights  to 
the  left,  the  French  artillery  fire  had  scattered  the  Dutch 
cavalry,  a  few  thousand  Bavarians  had  broken  their  ranks 
and  fled,  and  Ligonier's  battahons,  caught  up  by  the  rabble 
of  fugitives,  were  involved  in  the  panic  flight.  The  rush 
was  for  the  three  pontoon  bridges  thrown  over  the  Meuse, 
and  many  of  the  fugitives  were  drowned  in  the  river.  At 
five  o'clock  the  alhes  had  been  driven  from  all  their  posts, 
and  Saxe  ordered  up  his  cavalry  for  the  pursuit.  But  the 
autumn  night  was  coming  on,  and  his  horsemen  drew  rein 


240  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

at  the  ravines.  Estimates  of  the  losses  on  either  side 
vary  amazingly.  The  French  author  of  Saxe's  Memoirs  says 
the  allies  left  12,000  dead  and  lost  3000  prisoners,  while 
the  French  had  but  1000  killed.  Considering  the  obstinate 
fighting  in  the  centre,  the  last  statement  is  incredible. 
More  probable  calculations  place  the  whole  casualties  of 
the  allies  at  between  5000  and  6000,  and  those  of  the 
French  at  about  two-thirds  of  that  number.  A  decree  of 
the  King  conferred  on  Saxe  the  title  of  "  Most  Serene 
Highness,"  and  six  of  the  captured  guns  went  to  Chambord, 
to  be  mounted  on  the  terrace  of  the  chateau. 

The  war  continued,  to  the  satisfaction  of  Saxe  as  was 
believed,  for  he  was  always  eager  for  honours  and  glory. 
In  March  he  was  formally  gazetted  Marshal-General  in 
command  of  the  army  of  the  Low  Countries.  Louis  had 
issued  a  lengthy  proclamation,  setting  forth  in  honeyed 
words  his  concern  for  the  interests  of  Holland,  but  ending 
with  an  unmistakable  hint  that  he  contemplated  nothing 
short  of  its  conquest,  unless  it  asked  for  peace  upon  terms 
of  his  dictation.  Cumberland  was  back  and  nominally  in 
command  of  the  allies,  but  now  he  was  embarrassed  at  every 
step  by  the  obstruction  and  jealousy  of  his  colleagues. 
Now,  however,  the  Dutch  were  thoroughly  alarmed  ; 
William  of  Orange-Nassau,  the  son-in-law  of  King  George, 
had  been  elected  Stadtholder,  and  fresh  levies  were  being 
hurried  into  the  field.  Already  the  French  were  afoot  and 
active.  Saxe  in  consultation  at  Versailles  had  sketched 
out  his  plan  of  campaign.  Lowendahl  had  his  orders, 
while  Saxe  was  still  at  Versailles,  and  was  threatening 
the  fortresses  in  Dutch  Flanders.  When  the  attention  of 
the  alHes  was  diverted  thither,  Saxe  in  command  of  the 


MARSHAL  SAXE  241 

main  army  was  to  lay  siege  to  Maestricht  and  strike  into 
South  Holland.  Lowendahl  acted  with  his  habitual  celerity 
and  more  than  his  usual  good  fortune.  Fortress  after 
fortress  fell  to  him,  and  when  Saxe  joined  his  army,  he 
found  his  left  already  secured.  The  alHes,  after  sundry 
vain  demonstrations,  had  given  up  their  designs  on  Antwerp, 
and  had  to  content  themselves  with  moving  eastward  to 
cover  Maestricht. 

Conflicting  counsels  had  paralysed  their  operations,  and 
indeed  they  were  greatly  inferior  in  numbers.  When  Louis 
reached  Brussels,  whither  Saxe  had  preceded  him,  he 
reviewed  140,000  men  who  had  passed  the  winter  in  com- 
fortable quarters.  The  great  army  marched  from  Brussels 
for  Maestricht.  Saxe  anticipated  the  allies  in  occupying 
Tongres,  where  Cumberland  had  intended  to  establish  his 
headquarters.  Then  the  opposing  forces  found  themselves 
face  to  face.  Their  battle-field  lay  open  between  them,  and 
when  King  Louis  came  to  Tongres,  he  rode  over  the  ground 
which  Saxe  had  surveyed  and  carefull}^  studied.  From 
the  heights  above  the  village  of  Henderen,  on  which  his 
infantry  were  arrayed  in  a  double  line,  the  King  could 
trace  the  positions  of  the  allies,  who  now  mustered  90,000. 
Their  right  extended  westward,  along  the  opposite  ridge  ; 
their  left  was  pointing  towards  Maestricht.  They  had 
occupied  all  the  villages  in  their  front,  with  Laffeldt  held 
strongly  as  the  key  of  their  position.  But  it  was  no  equal 
match.  Besides  being  outnumbered  by  nearly  a  third, 
they  were  wearied  by  fruitless  countermarching,  and  aware 
of  the  dissensions  between  their  leaders,  whereas  the  French 
were  in  high  heart  and  spirits,  fighting  under  the  eyes  of 
their  sovereign  and  led  by  their  invincible  Marshal.     The 

Q 


242  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Austrians  were  on  the  right,  the  Dutch  on  the  left,  while 
in  the  centre  behind  Laffeldt  were  the  British,  the  Hano- 
verians, and  the  Hessians.  Saxe's  infantry  still  stood 
ranged  along  the  Henderen  heights,  extended  on  the  right 
to  the  village  of  Rymps  and  overlapping  the  Dutch ; 
Rymps  was  strongly  entrenched  and  occupied,  and  repelled 
an  attack  by  the  Dutch  on  the  eve  of  the  battle.  The 
battle  may  be  briefly  described,  and  the  result  was  almost 
a  foregone  conclusion.  On  the  morning  of  the  2nd  July 
the  French  were  moving  early,  but  it  was  ten  o'clock  ere 
the  action  began.  Then  Saxe  launched  a  furious  attack 
on  Laffeldt.  Three  times  the  village  was  won  ;  thrice  was 
it  recovered  as  reserves  came  up.  But  the  reserves  gave 
out,  and  Saxe  had  still  fresh  regiments  to  call  upon. 
Heading  that  charge  in  person,  and  supporting  it  with 
concentrated  artillery  fire,  Laffeldt  changed  hands  for  the 
last  time,  and  so  by  noon  the  day  was  virtually  won. 

Cumberland  strove  to  save  it  by  ordering  a  charge  of 
the  Dutch  horse  from  the  centre.  They  were  charged  in 
turn  by  the  heavy  French  cavalry  from  either  side,  over- 
ridden, and  hunted  back,  while  the  Frenchmen  never  drew 
rein  till  they  had  met  in  the  allied  centre.  Then  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  retreat  upon  Maestricht.  The  retreat 
was  becoming  a  rout,  when  the  rabble  of  fugitives  was 
saved  by  a  gallant  onset  of  Ligonier  at  the  head  of  four 
regiments  of  dragoons.  Not  only  were  the  French  cavalry 
checked  in  the  full  flush  of  a  jubilant  chase,  but  they  left 
five  of  their  standards  behind.  The  gallant  Ligonier, 
always  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  was  unhorsed  and  taken 
prisoner.  Saxe  received  him  with  chivalrous  courtesy. 
Presenting  him  to  the  King,  he  said  :  "  Here,  sire,  is  a  man 
who  by  a  single  splendid  action  has  upset  all  my  plans," 


ONiVtlRSJTY 


Ai.iro*^"^^-'' 


MARSHAL   SAXE  243 

Nor  were  the  words  an  empty  compliment.  Laffeldt 
was  no  decisive  battle,  and  Maestricht,  though  always 
threatened,  was  still  safe.  Meantime  the  interest  had 
centred  in  West  Flanders,  Lowendahl  was  laying  siege  to 
Bergen-op-Zoom,  a  virgin  fortress,  deemed  impregnable,  and 
the  masterpiece  of  Cohorn's  science.  The  Dutch,  in  the 
depths  of  depression,  urged  the  allies  to  raise  the  siege. 
The  King  sent  peremptory  orders  to  Saxe  that  the  place 
must  be  taken  at  any  cost.  Lowendahl  staked  fame  and 
fortune  on  a  desperate  hazard.  The  allies  were  advancing  ; 
the  defences  were  yet  unbreached,  but  he  ordered  a  general 
assault  at  daybreak.  Bergen-op-Zoom  was  taken,  he  won 
the  coveted  baton  of  Marshal,  but  stained  his  reputation 
to  all  time  by  the  atrocities  he  permitted  on  the  helpless 
inhabitants.  Louis  is  said  to  have  shrunk  from  con- 
nivance in  the  guilt,  but  Saxe,  when  consulted,  spoke 
out  with  his  usual  decision.  "  Sire,  there  is  no  middle 
course  ;  you  must  either  hang  him  or  make  him  Marshal 
of  France." 

Louis  had  for  years  been  longing  for  peace,  and  again  the 
succession  of  victories  enabled  him  to  make  honourable 
advances.  Ligonier  had  been  employed  as  an  intermediary, 
and  King  George  lent  a  willing  ear.  Indeed  Louis'  pro- 
positions were  so  generous  as  to  disarm  reasonable  opposi- 
tion, for  he  offered  as  the  basis  of  a  treaty  reversion  to  the 
status  quo  ante.  In  the  spring  of  1748  the  negotiations  were 
progressing,  but  none  the  less,  Saxe  had  been  preparing 
for  war.  The  capture  of  Maestricht  he  declared  to  be 
an  indispensable  preliminary  to  any  treaty,  and  the  city 
was  closely  invested  on  either  bank  of  the  Meuse.  But 
on  May  Day  news  came  to  the  camps  of  the  French  and 
the  allies  that  the  peace  preliminaries  had  been  actually 


244  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

signed  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Saxe  received  an  envoy  with 
proposals  for  an  armistice  and  the  surrender  of  Maestricht. 
His  acceptance  was  ratified  by  Louis,  and  on  May  lo 
Maestricht  was  given  over. 

The  Marshal  was  by  no  means  satisfied  to  see  much  of 
his  work  undone.  Holland  had  good  reason  to  be  gratified, 
for  Bergen-op-Zoom  and  Maestricht,  her  bulwarks  on  the 
western  and  eastern  borders,  were  to  be  given  back.  Saxe 
protested  in  vain  against  terms  he  deemed  dishonourable. 
Undoubtedly  personal  considerations  weighed  with  him  as 
much  as  politics  and  patriotism.  He  loved  war,  and  had  a 
passion  for  fame  and  celebrity.  Now  he  saw  his  occupa- 
tion gone  and  the  field  of  honour  finally  closed  to  him. 
Reluctantly  he  sheathed  his  sword  and  retired  to  his 
chateau  of  Chambord. 

There  he  lived  en  ■prince  and  grand  seigneur.  Louis 
had  not  been  backward  in  gratitude  or  generosity,  and  he 
was  in  enjoyment  of  a  splendid  income.  He  still  played 
at  soldiering — as  Napoleon  when  locked  up  in  Elba — with 
his  own  regiment,  the  Volunteers  of  Saxe,  which  he  had 
raised  in  1743.  To  his  shame  and  scandal,  as  it  was  after- 
wards to  prove,  he  indulged  his  tastes  for  music  and  the 
drama.  But  these  trivial  distractions  speedily  palled  on 
the  restless  spirit  who  had  filled  Europe  with  his  fame. 
Among  other  schemes,  more  or  less  extravagant,  he  planned 
a  settlement  in  Tobago,  a  starting-point  for  dreams  of 
ambition  in  the  other  hemisphere.  That  scheme  was 
promptly  knocked  on  the  head  by  the  natural  objections  of 
England  and  Holland.  There  was  nothing  left  the  old 
roue  but  to  fall  back  on  dissipation,  and  with  a  constitution 
worn-out  by  war  and  dissipation  he  reverted  to  the  excesses 
of  his  youth.     Four  years  before  his  death  it  was  his  mis- 


MARSHAL   SAXE  245 

fortune  to  become  the  victim  of  a  senile  and  devouring 
passion.  He  fell  in  love  with  the  beautiful  young  wife  of 
his  theatrical  impresario.  Unfortunately  for  his  fame,  the 
lady  was  virtuous  and  her  husband  an  honest  man.  They 
were  proof  alike  against  threats  and  magnificent  offers. 
Saxe  stooped  to  abuse  his  great  position,  and  fell  into  the 
fashion  of  the  court  favourites  of  the  day.  He  hunted  his 
helpless  dependant  into  hiding,  wearied  by  lawsuits  to  be 
decided  by  servile  judges,  and  sent  the  hapless  beauty  to 
a  convent  under  a  lettre  de  cachet.  By  the  irony  of  fate 
that  was  the  last  memorable  incident  in  the  career  of  the 
hero  of  Fontenoy.  He  died  on  30th  November  1750  in  his 
bed  at  Chambord,  with  the  calm  courage  and  the  dignity 
with  which  he  would  have  met  death  on  the  battle-field. 

There  was  universal  mourning  in  France  as  the  news 
was  slowly  circulated.  By  a  clause  in  the  Marshal's  will 
his  body  was  to  be  cremated  in  quicklime,  in  imitation  of 
Saint  Monica,  but  it  was  disregarded  by  the  executors. 
The  corpse  was  embalmed  and  enclosed  in  triple  coffins  of 
lead,  copper,  and  iron-bound  mahogany.  The  heart  was  in 
a  silver  case,  the  entrails  in  another  casket.  For  a  month 
there  was  a  sort  of  lying  in  state  ;  then  in  the  depth  of 
winter  the  stately  funeral  cortege  set  out  from  Chambord 
for  Strasburg.  As  during  the  waiting  at  Chambord  guard 
had  been  mounted  as  when  the  Marshal  was  alive,  and 
guns  fired  every  half-hour,  now  the  coaches  were  escorted 
by  a  squadron  of  light  dragoons,  and  after  a  month's  march 
in  wild,  stormy  weather  and  over  difficult  roads,  it  was  met 
in  the  environs  of  Strasburg  by  the  garrison  and  all  the 
dignitaries,  military  and  civil.  The  Protestant  hero,  who 
had  held  fast  to  his  faith,  was  buried  in  the  Lutheran  church 
of  St.  Thomas. 


VIII 
INDIAN    ADVENTURERS 

The  growth  of  standing  armies  in  the  eighteenth  century 
closed  Europe  to  the  adventurous  spirits  who,  as  wandering 
soldiers  of  fortune,  changed  their  camps  and  their  colours 
on  a  caprice.  Simultaneously  a  wider  field  was  opening  to 
daring  ambitions.  The  East,  with  its  fabled  wealth  and  all 
its  wonderful  possibilities,  lay  before  them.  France  and 
England  had  carried  the  continental  wars  into  India,  and 
Hindustan  was  in  convulsions  from  the  Himalayas  to  Cape 
Comorin.  Never  and  nowhere  had  there  been  greater 
opportunities.  Successive  invasions  from  the  north  had 
shaken  the  Empire  of  the  Moguls  to  its  foundation.  The 
final  shock  had  come  from  the  incursions  of  Sivagie's 
"  rats,"  as  Sir  John  Malcolm  called  them,  a  race  of  pre- 
datory warriors  of  roving  instincts,  slight  of  frame  com- 
pared to  Sikhs  or  Rajpoots,  but  distinguished  for  craft  and 
courage,  and  admirable  fighting  material.  The  representa- 
tive of  the  Mogul  Emperors  had  become  the  shadow  of  a 
mighty  power,  held  in  honourable  tutelage  at  Delhi  by 
the  Peishwah  who  reigned  at  Poona,  the  head  of  the  great 
loose  Mahratta  confederation.  For  the  Peishwah's  feuda- 
tories, the  Guikwar  of  Baroda,  Scindiah  of  Gwahor,  Holkar 
of  Indore,  the  Rajahs  of  Berar  and  Nagpore,  habitually  set 

him    at    defiance.     The    Nizam    of   Hyderabad  ruled    the 

246 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  247 

largest  state  in  India,  and  between  the  Deccan  and  the 
Carnatic  Hyder  Ah,  as  Sultan  of  Mysore,  one  of  the  ablest 
of  Oriental  soldiers  of  fortune,  had  set  up  a  dynasty  of  his 
own,  apparently  on  solid  foundations.  All  these  powers 
and  principalities,  unknitted  by  old  relations  and  uncon- 
fined  by  ancient  landmarks,  were  in  a  state  of  chronic 
collision.  Moreover,  every  one  of  them  was  distracted  by 
intestine  feuds  and  broils.  The  palaces  were  the  scenes  of 
perpetual  intrigue,  and  the  death  of  a  ruler,  if  he  survived 
dagger  or  poison,  was  almost  invariably  the  cause  of  a 
contested  succession. 

In  all  its  conditions  and  circumstances  the  India  of 
the  time  resembled  the  Italy  that  was  the  prey  of  the 
Condottieri.  Afghan  and  Arab  mercenaries  flocked  to  the 
standards  of  chiefs  who  lured  them  by  the  promise  of 
plunder.  Naturally  their  services  were  most  in  demand 
in  states  comparatively  unwarlike,  where  they  terrorised 
the  peaceful  population.  But  the  whole  Indian  peninsula 
was  in  a  far  more  lamentable  state  than  that  of  Germany 
in  the  worst  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Law  there  was 
none  and  violence  was  right.  The  restless  Mahrattas  were 
always  raiding  their  neighbours,  giving  no  quarter  where 
resistance  was  offered,  and  showing  no  pity  where  booty 
was  to  be  got.  And  the  ravages  of  the  Mahrattas  were 
surpassed  by  the  Pindaries,  who  were  robbers  and  land 
pirates,  pure  and  simple.  Meadows  Taylor,  who  had 
studied  his  subjects  well,  gives  a  vivid  and  revolting  picture 
of  their  ruthless  cruelties  and  their  enormous  gains.  His 
Thug  in  the  "  Confessions  "  follows  the  fortunes  of  Chefoo, 
one  of  their  most  notable  leaders,  and  even  the  Thug  was 
moved   to   compassion    and   revenge    by   the    horrors    he 


248  SOLDIERS   OF  FORTUNE 

witnessed.  Cities  were  laid  under  contribution  as  by  the 
Condottieri,  and  if  by  policy  they  were  spared  immediate 
sack,  the  municipalities  and  merchants  must  pay  enormous 
ransoms  in  specie.  There  was  a  certain  rude  justice  among 
themselves  ;  the  booty  was  promptly  distributed,  and 
though  the  leaders  took  the  lion's  share,  each  horseman's 
saddle  was  stuffed  with  coin  or  jewels.  Sometimes  the 
plunder  was  so  great  that  there  was  difficulty  in  disposing 
of  it.  Proverbially  faithless,  the  only  instances  in  which 
the  Pindarics  kept  their  faith  was  when  they  summoned 
the  shopkeepers  or  merchants  to  a  bazaar.  Then  the  very 
men  who  had  been  exploits  elsewhere  might  recoup  them- 
selves in  a  measure  by  buying  cheaply  the  booty  of  which 
others  had  been  stripped.  But  the  speciality  of  the 
Pindarics  was  their  stooping  to  the  most  paltry  robbery 
and  revelling  in  wanton  mischief.  The  peasant,  with  his 
silver  ornaments  or  his  handful  of  rupees,  was  compelled 
to  surrender  his  little  savings  by  nameless  tortures. 
Whether  the  villages  resisted  or  no,  they  were  burned  all 
the  same,  the  women  were  violated,  the  most  attractive 
carried  off,  the  fruit-trees  were  felled,  and  the  tanks  were 
breached.  And  these  robber  hordes  were  more  or  less  in 
open  alliance  with  the  potentates  who  offered  them  a  safe 
retreat  in  consideration  of  a  handsome  commission  on 
their  plunder. 

That  was  the  India  which  had  opened  to  European 
adventurers.  At  first  the  French  had  it  all  their  own 
way.  The  English  in  Hindustan  were  a  scattered  handful 
of  traders,  sheltering  in  fortified  ports  on  the  coast,  paying 
tribute  to  despots  from  whom  they  only  bought  toleration 
and   trading    license.     The    French    were    represented   by 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  249 

statesmen  and  soldiers  with  far-reaching  ambitions  which 
they  pushed  indefatigably.  It  is  to  Lally,  Bourdonnais, 
and  Dupleix  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  Empire,  won  by 
a  merchant  company  to  be  surrendered  to  the  Crown. 
Had  Dupleix  been  appreciated  at  Versailles  and  adequately 
supported,  Hindustan  might  now  have  been  a  French 
dependency.  As  it  was,  he  had  made  himself  for  a  time 
the  virtual  sovereign  of  Southern  Hindustan,  and  it  was 
his  overshadowing  authority  and  his  masterful  aggressions 
which  forced  us  into  conflict  for  self-preservation.  For- 
tunately we  found  men  who  could  rise  to  the  emergency, 
and  Clive  and  Hastings  came  to  the  rescue. 

But  it  was  Dupleix  who  had  showed  them  the  way  to 
win.  As  Macaulay  has  indicated,  he  was  the  first  to  realise 
what  could  be  done  in  those  scenes  of  unregulated  turmoil 
by  disciplining  native  levies  under  European  leading. 
Clive,  Coote  of  Wandewash,  and  Lake  of  Liswari  had 
adopted  his  methods  and  practice,  when  they  gained 
victories  against  overwhelming  odds  with  battalions  of 
Bengalees  and  Madrasees,  stiffened  with  the  sweepings  of 
our  gaols  and  gutters.  The  memorable  defence  of  Arcot 
was  the  turning-point.  But  in  military  methods  Dupleix 
only  pointed  the  way.  He  was  a  statesman  and  a  skilful 
diplomat,  but  no  soldier.  It  was  De  Boigne,  a  soldier  first 
of  all,  though  scarcely  less  able  in  diplomacy,  who  was 
the  first  to  discipline  the  wild  Indian  hordes,  and  form 
them  into  something  hke  the  battalions  of  King  Louis. 
De  Boigne  was  emphatically  a  soldier  of  fortune.  A 
Savoyard  of  noble  birth,  he  had  served  his  apprenticeship 
to  arms  in  the  Irish  Brigade.  But  slow  promotion  dis- 
gusted  him,   as   afterwards   when   he   engaged   under   the 


250  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

British  colours  in  India.  In  the  interval  he  had  tried  his 
fortunes  with  the  Russians,  when  he  came  again  to  what 
he  fancied  was  a  deadlock.  But  circumstances  had  made 
him  a  friend  in  Lord  Percy,  which  seemed  to  offer  a  career 
in  India,  and  with  strong  introductions,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven,  in  1778  he  landed  at  Madras.  After  some 
difficulties  the  Savoyard  was  given  a  commission  in  a 
regiment  of  native  infantry,  but  there  also  the  promotion 
was  by  seniority,  and  after  holding  it  for  a  year  or  two, 
he  threw  it  up.  He  had  been  court-martialled  and  con- 
demned on  a  charge  of  which  he  was  subsequently  acquitted, 
and  the  unmerited  misfortune  recommended  him  to  the 
favourable  notice  of  Warren  Hastings,  who  gave  him 
credentials  to  our  resident  at  Lucknow.  He  had  been 
baulked  before  in  his  intentions  of  travelling  overland  to 
India  ;  now  he  hoped  to  accomplish  the  journey  in  the 
reverse  direction,  through  Afghanistan,  the  Turcoman 
Khanates,  and  Persia.  He  was  passed  on  to  the  camp  of 
Scindiah,  who  was  then  laying  siege  to  his  own  future 
stronghold  of  Gwalior.  Favoured  at  first,  he  fell  under 
suspicion,  and  happily  for  him,  was  waylaid  by  Scindiah's 
order,  and  robbed  of  all  he  possessed.  So  his  projects  of 
travel  came  to  an  end.  It  would  be  a  long  story  to  tell, 
how  he  soon  afterwards  made  his  peace  with  the  most 
powerful  of  the  Mahrattas.  I  only  advert  in  passing  to 
the  foreign  adventurers  in  India.  But  De  Boigne  knew 
how  to  make  himself  indispensable  ;  his  master  was  wise 
enough  to  value  the  servant,  and  formidable  as  Scindiah 
had  been  before,  De  Boigne  with  his  well-drilled  battalions 
made  the  Maharajah  supreme  in  those  parts,  and  immensely 
extended  his   dominions.      A   great    strategist    and    able 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  251 

tactician,  his  coolness  was  equal  to  his  courage,  and  like 
Marlborough  he  never  lost  his  presence  of  mind  in  the 
most  critical  emergencies.  Like  Gordon,  he  led  "  an  in- 
vincible army."  His  soldiers  were  devoted  to  a  leader 
who,  during  eighteen  years  of  incessant  fighting,  had  never 
lost  a  battle.  But  the  strain  and  the  climate  told  on  his 
health,  and  he  resolved  to  return  to  Europe.  He  left  India 
at  the  apogee  of  his  greatness.  Scindiah  ruled  the  central 
provinces,  De  Boigne  ruled  Scindiah,  and  there  was  a  time 
when  the  adventurer  had  taken  the  Mogul  under  his  pro- 
tection. His  genius  had  been  great,  and  oddly  enough, 
while  continually  in  the  field,  he  had  been  running  a 
lucrative  mercantile  business  in  Lucknow.  Yet  the  fortune 
he  took  home,  though  large,  was  not  excessive  ;  it  is  said 
to  have  fallen  short  of  half  a  million.  For  though  he  has 
been,  perhaps  unreasonably,  taxed  with  avarice,  he  knew 
the  wisdom  of  dazzling  Orientals,  and  had  lived  en  prince 
in  magnificent  state  with  open-handed  hospitality.  What 
was  less  usual  in  those  times,  he  retired  with  a  tolerably 
clear  conscience.  He  had  kept  his  soldiers  well  in  hand, 
and  had  invariably  shown  clemency  to  the  vanquished. 
Even  if  he  had  sinned,  he  made  practical  atonement. 
Welcomed  by  his  countrymen  and  honoured  by  his  sove- 
reign, he  bought  an  estate  near  his  native  Chambery,  and 
distinguished  himself  in  his  declining  years  by  philanthropy 
and  munificent  benefactions. 

We  shall  frequently  come  across  his  compatriot  Perron 
in  tracing  the  careers  of  Anglo-Indian  soldiers.  Perron,  the 
son  of  a  bankrupt,  trod  in  De  Boigne's  steps,  and  was  his 
pupil  in  statecraft  and  the  art  of  war.  Decidedly  his 
inferior  in  both,  he  was  nevertheless  more  successful  from 


252  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

a  worldly  point  of  view,  and  like  his  master  he  returned 
to  his  native  France,  but  with  a  very  much  larger  fortune. 
When  De  Boigne  parted  from  Scindiah  he  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  army  his  master  had  made.  Then  it 
numbered  nearly  50,000  disciplined  infantry  and  cavalry. 
Nominally  the  general  of  Scindiah,  he  established  his  per- 
sonal sovereignty  over  territories  stretching  far  into  the 
Punjaub  and  comprehending  great  part  of  the  Doab.  His 
revenues  are  said  to  have  fallen  little  short  of  two  millions, 
and  he  prudently  remitted  great  part  of  his  economies  to 
France.  Victorious  in  twelve  or  fourteen  battles,  his 
troops  were  never  beaten  till  he  measured  swords  with 
the  English.  His  growing  power  was  regarded  with  such 
apprehension  by  Lord  Wellesley  that  Perron  may  be  said 
to  have  been  the  cause  of  the  Mahratta  wars.  Then  his 
star  paled  rapidly  before  those  of  Wellesley  and  Lake,  and 
at  Assaye,  Ahgarh,  and  the  crowning  victory  of  Liswari, 
the  veteran  regiments  De  Boigne  had  trained  were  broken, 
scattered,  or  annihilated. 

One  of  Perron's  most  troublesome  enemies,  when  he 
was  at  the  height  of  his  power,  was  George  Thomas,  the 
most  remarkable  of  the  British  soldiers  of  fortune — and 
their  beginnings  were  almost  identical.  Both  went  out  to 
India  before  the  mast ;  both  ran  from  their  ships  and 
went  up  country  to  seek  military  service.  But  Thomas,  a 
Tipperary  man,  was  a  common  sailor  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write  ;  he  was  always  hampered  and  was  ruined 
at  last  by  the  sailor's  addiction  to  drink.  Nevertheless, 
like  Perron,  he  too  made  himself  an  independent  prince, 
defying  the  potentates  who  had  been  his  stepping-stones 
to  fortune,  and  making  formal  treaties  with  adjacent  states. 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  253 

Wlien  he  deserted  at  Madras,  he  took  refuge  with  the 
PoHgars  in  the  hill-country  of  the  Carnatic.  Seeing  no 
opening  among  those  wild  though  warlike  mountaineers, 
he  found  his  way  to  Hyderabad,  enlisting  in  the  armies 
of  the  Nizam.  There  was  no  promotion  there  for  the 
letterless  private,  and  he  left  the  Deccan  for  Delhi  and 
the  court  of  the  Mogul.  That  lonely  walk  through  a 
country  ravaged  by  marauding  bands  must  have  been  a 
marvellous  achievement  for  a  man  who  was  tongue-tied, 
but  his  luck  served  him  well,  and  he  arrived  at  his  destina- 
tion in  safety.  The  Mogul  Emperor,  overshadowed  by  the 
menacing  Mahrattas,  had  a  splendid  household,  but  could 
afford  no  regular  army.  More  powerful  feudatories  had 
strengthened  themselves  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  Delhi.  The  most  formidable  of  his  neighbours  was  a 
lady  who  had  in  her  pay  some  fairly  disciplined  battalions 
commanded  by  Europeans.  With  her  the  Enghsh  sailor 
found  the  opening  he  sought.  The  notorious j.  Begum 
Samzoo  was  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  woman  India 
ever  produced,  and  her  whole  career  was  a  marvel  of 
romance,  intertwined  with  those  of  European  soldiers  of 
fortune,  and  with  that  of  Thomas  in  particular.  It  was 
she  who  gave  Thomas  his  start,  and  he  did  her  much  good 
and  evil. 

The  Begum  figures  in  many  British  biographies  and 
reminiscences,  but  perhaps  the  best  and  most  reliable 
account  is  given  by  Sleeman,  though  he  takes  an  unduly 
favourable  view  of  her  character,  and  is  inclined  to  gloss 
over  her  cruelty  and  her  crimes.  In  a  country  and  of  a 
creed  which  condemn  women  to  seclusion,  she  soon  cast 
the    conventionalities  of   the  zenana  behind   her  ;     looked 


2  54  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

battle  and  danger  boldly  in  the  face  unveiled,  and  led  her 
own  squadrons  into  action.  As  bewitching  and  winning  as 
Emma,  Lady  Hamilton,  in  early  youth,  she  had  a  masculine 
temperament,  a  passionate  and  sensuous  nature,  a  heart 
of  stone,  and  an  inflexible  will.  She  claimed  descent  from 
the  Prophet  of  Islam,  and  her  beauty  as  a  girl  is  said  to 
have  been  a  byword.  At  Sardhana,  some  five  and  forty 
miles  from  Delhi,  she  took  the  fancy  of  the  renegade  Walter 
Reinhardt,  who  had  adopted  Oriental  dress  and  manners. 
Reinhardt  first  added  her  to  his  harem,  and  then  married 
her  according  to  Mohammedan  rites.  He  was  the  son  of 
a  Salzburg  butcher  ;  he  came  out  to  India  as  a  private 
in  a  French  regiment,  changed  to  the  service  of  the  East 
India  Company,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  sergeant.  It  was 
the  French  who  gave  him  the  sobriquet  of  Sombre,  from 
the  swarthiness  of  his  complexion,  and  he  afterwards  did 
us  the  honour  of  anglicising  it  as  Somers.  The  Armenian 
prime  minister  of  Meer  Cossim,  Nawab  of  Bengal,  tempted 
him  to  a  second  desertion  when  that  potentate  was  driven 
to  break  with  the  British  by  the  high-handed  proceedings 
of  Mr.  Ellis,  chief  of  the  factory  at  Patna.  The  war  broke 
out  and  the  Nawab  took  a  terrible  revenge  on  his  enemy. 
The  factory  fell  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign :  there  was 
a  tragedy  as  black  as  that  of  the  Black  Hole,  and  all  the 
captives  were  condemned  to  death.  Even  the  tyrant's 
native  officers  refused  to  butcher  the  helpless  victims,  but 
Sombre  eagerly  embraced  the  opportunity  of  ingratiating 
himself  with  his  master.  Meer  Cossim  was  beaten  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  the  wars  between  the  Company  and 
its  neighbours,  and  driven  into  Gude  ;  the  Nawab  of  Gude 
was  vanquished  in  turn,  when  Sombre  left  him  and  sought 


INDIAN    ADVENTURERS  255 

service  in  Rohilcund.  A  veritable  Condottiere,  among  the 
warlike  Rohillas  he  found  means  of  levying  several  bat- 
talions, which  he  was  always  ready  to  hire  out  to  the  highest 
bidder.  Europeans  came  to  officer  his  companies,  but 
they  were  the  most  ruffianly  of  a  disreputable  class.  Abso- 
lutely ilHterate  like  their  chief,  they  were  as  seldom  sober. 
Sleeman  says  that  the  men  seldom  got  their  pay,  till 
they  subjected  their  commandant  to  the  peine  forte  et  dure. 
They  either  sentenced  him  to  cells,  or  rode  him  on  a  heated 
cannon  without  his  trousers.  It  may  be  doubted  if  the 
method  was  invariably  successful,  for  we  know  the  proverb 
about  Highlanders  and  their  breeches,  though  if  they 
could  not  find  hard  cash,  they  could  generally  borrow 
under  threats  from  the  bankers.  Sombre  showed  rare  skill 
and  caution  in  trafficking  in  his  mercenaries.  He  never 
risked  them  unnecessarily  ;  left  his  employers  or  allies  to 
bear  the  brunt  of  the  fighting,  and  then  either  passed 
over  to  the  victors — for  a  price — or  pressed  forward  to  have 
his  share  of  the  plunder. 

He  died  in  1778,  a  wealthy  man.  He  left  one  son  of 
feeble  intellect  by  a  former  marriage,  and  the  widow  who 
knew  better  than  any  woman  in  the  world  how  to  take 
her  own  part,  Sombre's  Pretorian  Guards  settled  the 
succession.  They  chose  the  Begum  for  their  leader  by 
acclamation,  and  she  heartily  acceded  to  the  call.  Her 
position  was  legalised  and  confirmed  by  the  Emperor  Shere 
Alum.  She  had  a  succession  of  lieutenants — ItaHan, 
English,  and  French — and  at  last  the  subordinate  com- 
mand fell  to  a  Frenchman,  Le  Vaisseau,  a  gentleman  of 
birth,  education,  and  refinement.  Half  her  troops  were, 
then  at  Sardhana,  her  place  of  residence,  the  other  half  in 


256  SOLDIERS  OF   FORTUNE 

garrison  at  Delhi,  where  she  had  extended  her  protection 
to  her  liege  lord.  It  was  then  she  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Thomas. 

The  Begum,  though  her  bloom  was  gone  by,  was  stiU 
a  beautiful  woman.  Even  as  an  octogenarian  she  prided 
herself  on  some  of  her  old  attractions — specially  on  her 
hands,  arms,  and  feet.  Captain  Mundy,  an  officer  on 
Lord  Combermere's  staff,  describes  her  as  she  was  in  1827, 
when  the  Commander-in-Chief,  an  old  acquaintance,  paid 
his  respects  to  her.  "  In  person  she  is  very  short,  and 
rather  embonpoint  ;  her  complexion  is  unusually  fair,  her 
features  large  and  prominent,  and  their  expression  roguish 
and  astute."  She  smoked  a  hookah,  and  at  the  head  of 
her  table  entertained  her  visitors  unveiled.  "  Indeed," 
Captain  Mundy  adds,  '*  if  the  absence  of  all  the  softer 
qualities  and  the  possession  of  the  most  fiery  qualities, 
stubbornness  of  purpose  and  almost  unexampled  cruelty, 
can  give  her  a  claim  to  be  numbered  among  the  hardier 
sex,  her  right  to  virility  will  hardly  be  disputed."  As  to 
the  cruelty,  Mundy  comes  nearer  to  the  truth  than  the 
more  friendly  Sleeman,  who  relates  without  comment  a 
highly  characteristic  incident.  The  Begum  was  offended 
with  two  female  slaves — historians  differ  as  to  the  reason. 
She  had  them  flogged  till  they  fainted,  waited  till  they 
recovered,  and  then  buried  them  alive.  Worse  than  the 
Thugs,  who  slept  peacefully  over  strangled  victims,  "she 
arranged  the  execution  for  the  evening  meal,  and  spread 
her  bedding  over  the  grave,  that  she  might  baulk  any 
attempt  at  deliverance." 

Thomas  was  then  a  handsome  man,  with  the  plausible 
manners   of   an   Irishman   and   the   melhfluous   brogue   of 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  257 

Tipperary.  The  Begiim  was  not  critical  as  to  culture  ; 
the  soldier-like  sailor  took  her  fancy,  and  he  soon  found 
an  opportunity  of  showing  his  quahty  in  the  field.  By  a 
gallant  charge  he  saved  the  Emperor  in  a  hard-fought 
battle  with  a  rebel  feudatory  ;  the  Begum,  who  took  the 
credit,  recognised  her  debt.  Le  Vaisseau  became  jealous 
of  Thomas'  growing  favour,  and  proposed  marriage  to  his 
mistress,  as  the  surest  way  of  keeping  the  upper  hand. 
Thomas  in  disappointment  threw  up  his  commission  to 
start  Condottiere  on  his  own  account.  There  was  no  lack 
of  swordsmen  to  gather  to  his  standard.  Yet  all  the  time 
he  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the  Begum  and  on  the  affairs  of 
Sardhana. 

The  menage  of  the  newly-wedded  couple  had  not  worked 
smoothly.  Le  Vaisseau  was  over-fastidious  for  his  place  ; 
he  refused  to  entertain  at  dinners  and  carouses  his  rufhanly 
European  subordinates,  which  to  say  the  least  was  bad 
policy.  They  leagued  against  him  and  headed  a  mutiny. 
Thomas  had  vindictively  been  egging  them  on,  and  pro- 
mising assistance  if  needful.  The  Begum  found  her  posi- 
tion untenable,  and  determined  on  flight  with  her  husband 
and  valuables.  She  asked  an  asylum  of  the  Company, 
like  many  other  victims  of  mutinous  intrigue,  but  the 
Governor-General  hesitated ;  to  assist  the  flight  of  a 
servant  of  the  Emperor  might  involve  the  Government  in 
trouble.  He  instructed  the  agent  at  Delhi  to  endeavour 
to  mediate  in  favour  of  the  Begum  with  Scindiah,  who 
was  then  virtually  Prime  Minister  and  master  of  the 
Mogul.  Scindiah  was  open  to  a  bribe,  and  ultimately  came 
to  terms.  The  lady  was  to  be  suffered  to  withdraw  with 
her  treasures  ;    the  Mahratta  prince  was  to  take  over  her 

R 


258  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

troops,  and  Le  Vaisseau  was  to  be  received  by  the  British 
as  prisoner  of  war  on  parole.  But  the  mutinous  Delhi 
battalions  had  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  they  got  wind  of 
the  intended  escape.  News  was  brought  to  Le  Vaisseau 
that  they  were  marching  upon  Sardhana,  and  he  knew 
the  fate  that  awaited  him  if  he  fell  into  their  hands.  He 
persuaded  the  Begum  to  lose  no  time,  and  they  made  a 
midnight  flitting  with  a  slender  escort. 

Then  occurred  a  mysterious  tragedy  from  which  the 
veil  can  never  be  lifted.  Either  the  Begum  was  guilty 
of  a  most  infamous  crime  or  she  was  a  much  calumniated 
woman.  Captain  Skinner,  a  trustworthy  witness,  acquits 
her,  but  the  weight  of  evidence  is  the  other  way,  and  the 
popular  version  has  been  generally  accepted.  She  swore  to 
her  husband  that  she  would  live  and  die  with  him  ;  that 
she  would  stab  herself  to  the  heart  rather  than  survive 
him.  She  showed  him  the  dagger  when  she  stepped  into 
her  palanquin.  He  mounted  and  rode  beside  her.  They 
had  barely  set  out  when  news  was  brought  that  their 
enemies  were  following  hard  on  their  traces.  Le  Vaisseau 
again  asked  his  wife  if  she  remained  firm  to  her  resolve. 
Again,  for  answer,  she  showed  him  the  dagger.  He  could 
have  ridden  off  and  saved  himself,  but  the  answer  decided 
him.  The  pursuers  were  close  behind ;  the  Begum's 
female  attendants  were  screaming  ;  Le  Vaisseau  stooped 
to  look  into  the  palanquin  and  saw  his  wife's  white  bosom- 
cloth  stained  with  blood  ;  he  drew  a  pistol  and  blew  out 
his  brains.  Skinner  says  the  dagger  had  glanced  from  the 
chest  bone,  and  that  she  wanted  courage  to  repeat  the 
blow.  The  less  charitable  construction  was  that  it  was  a 
marvellously  clever  piece  of  acting  ;    that  she  had  plotted 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  259 

to  get  rid  of  an  inconvenient  spouse,  and  resume  her  wild 
and  piquant  liberty  of  action. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  she  had  no  immediate  reason  for 
satisfaction.  Her  captors  treated  her  with  extreme  brutahty 
—it  may  be  presumed  that  they  stripped  her  of  all  her 
valuables:  for  seven  days  she  was  chained  under  a  gun 
and  subjected  to  every  sort  of  indignity.  Then  Thomas, 
who  had  sparks  of  chivalry  in  his  nature,  came  swiftly  to 
the  rescue.  He  appealed  to  the  common  sense  of  the 
mutinous  officers,  who  had  elected  the  weak-minded  son 
of  Sombre  to  the  leadership,  telling  them  that  their  only 
chance  of  maintaining  themselves  in  independence  at 
Sardhana  was  to  replace  the  Begum  in  authority.  They 
signed  a  paper  promising  devoted  allegiance  for  the  future, 
or  rather  they  set  their  marks  to  it,  for  only  one  of  them 
could  subscribe  his  name. 

The  man  who  could  sign  succeeded  to  the  command, 
and  the  four  battalions  were  multiplied  to  six.     Still  in  a 
chronic  state  of  mutiny,   they  invaded  the  Deccan  with 
Scindiah,   were   cut   up  in  successive  actions,   and   finally 
lost  their  guns  at  Assaye.     When  the  survivors  rallied  and 
came  back  the  Begum  made  alHance  with  the  British  ;   she 
formed   arsenals   and   established   a   foundry   for   cannon. 
She   managed   her   shaken   finances   well ;     developed    the 
resources  of  her  territories,   and  not  only  paid   her  way 
and    gave    generously    to    many    charitable    objects,    but 
accumulated  the  great  fortune  which,  when  bequeathed  to 
her  stepson,  became  the  subject  of  the  famous  Dyce-Sombre 
lawsuit.      We  have  seen  Lord  Combermere  pay  his  respects 
to  her  at  Sardhana  when  on  a  ceremonial  tour,  and  have 
said  that  they  were  old  acquaintances.     She  came  to  him 


2  6o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

with  some  of  her  battaUons  at  the  siege  of  Bhurtpore  to 
offer  assistance,  which  was  courteously  dechned.  It  was 
supposed  that  she  wished  to  have  her  share  in  the  sack, 
and  that,  vulture-hke,  she  scented  the  fabulous  treasures 
which  were  believed,  and  not  without  credibility,  to  be 
buried  within  the  walls  of  the  famous  stronghold.  Nor 
would  she  have  objected  to  take  her  part  in  the  fighting. 
Undoubtedly  his  lordship  had  a  great  liking  for  her  ;  regard 
and  admiration  seem  to  have  been  mutual.  She  promised 
faithfully  to  remember  him  in  her  will — one  of  the  many 
promises  she  failed  to  keep — and  persuaded  him  in  return 
to  act  as  guardian  to  her  stepson,  with  whom  he  was  to 
share  her  wealth.  When  the  youth  came  to  England  after- 
wards, plunging  into  a  wild  course  of  dissipation.  Comber- 
mere  did  his  utmost  to  redeem  a  pledge  which  cost  him 
infinite  trouble  and  anxiety. 

The  Begum  professed  Christianity,  was  munificent  in 
her  donations  to  many  creeds,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age 
in  the  odour  of  respectability  and  sanctity.  Bishop  Heber, 
who  visited  her  in  1825,  some  years  before  Captain  Mundy 
reported  on  her,  had  described  her  as  a  very  queer-looking 
old  woman,  with  brilhant  but  wicked  eyes  ;  and  ten  years 
afterwards  she  had  a  more  flattering  testimonial  from 
Lord  William  Bentinck — addressing  her  as  "  my  esteemed 
friend  " — to  "  the  benevolence  of  disposition  and  extensive 
charity  which  have  endeared  you  to  thousands,  and  excited 
in  my  mind  sentiments  of  the  warmest  admiration." 

The  biography  of  the  Begum  has  brought  us  somewhat 
in  advance  of  Thomas'  story.  But  it  illustrates  the  almost 
unaccountable  ascendant  these  unlettered  soldiers  of  fortune 
asserted   among  races   of  hereditary   warriors   at   least   as 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  261 

reckless  of  life  as  themselves.  Sailors  from  the  forecastle, 
such  as  Thomas  and  Sombre,  who  had  come  out  in  ragged 
dungaree,  grumbling  at  the  salt  junk  and  weevily  biscuit, 
played  a  leading  part  in  native  courts  accustomed  to 
barbaric  pomp  and  stately  ceremonial,  among  Brahmins 
who  abjured  the  sacred  ox,  and  Mohammedans  who  had 
forsworn  swine  and  strong  liquors.  They  easily  assimilated 
the  colours  of  their  surroundings,  and  with  the  common 
vices  of  lust  and  greed  were  permitted  to  indulge  in  their 
personal  predilections.  Had  Thomas  turned  Moslem  and 
total  abstainer  his  fate  would  have  been  different  ;  it  was 
his  misfortune  that  drunkenness  brought  him  to  grief.  In 
some  respects  Sombre's  case  is  the  more  remarkable,  for  he 
was  a  coward  at  heart,  and  never  risked  himself  in  action. 
Thomas,  on  the  contrary,  was  always  to  the  front  of  the 
fighting  ;  he  had  the  genius  of  astute  strategy  and  sur- 
prise, was  free-handed  in  the  disposal  of  his  ill-gotten 
spoils,  and  not  without  a  glitter  of  noble  qualities  which 
his  reckless  followers  could  appreciate.  It  might  be  said 
of  him — 

"  They  followed  him,  for  he  was  brave, 
And  great  the  spoil  he  got  and  gave. 
But  still  his  Christian  origin 
With  them  was  little  less  than  sin. 
Since  he,  their  mightiest  chief,  had  been 
In  youth  a  bitter  Nazarene." 

Not  that  Thomas  had  been  a  Nazarene  or  anything 
at  all,  but  he  came  of  infidel  kin  and  from  a  Christian 
country. 

In  1793  he  had  found  the  jealousy  of  Le  Vaisseau  and 


262  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  French  officers  of  the  Begum  too  strong  for  him.  He 
feared  a  conspiracy,  and  had  taken  to  flight  with  a  few 
hundred  rupees  in  his  saddle-bags.  He  had  quickly 
gathered  a  following  of  some  scores  of  desperadoes,  laid  a 
wealthy  village  under  contribution,  and  with  the  proceeds 
increased  companies  into  battalions,  which  he  as  rapidly 
brought  into  some  sort  of  discipline.  At  that  time  every 
Mahratta  chieftain  had  a  gang  of  robbers  in  his  pay  who 
added  materially  to  his  revenues.  He  kept  the  conduct 
of  the  more  important  expeditions  to  himself,  but  detached 
his  freebooters  on  minor  expeditions,  on  which  he  levied 
a  handsome  commission.  One  of  the  most  powerful  and 
turbulent  of  Scindiah's  feudatories  was  Appi  Rao  Khandi, 
and  with  him  Thomas  soon  came  to  an  understanding. 
When  Appi  backed  his  bills  or  his  promises,  Thomas  raised 
fresh  levies.  A  large  district  was  assigned  him  on  x\ppi's 
borders,  where  the  inhabitants,  although  raided  at  intervals, 
had  refused  to  resign  their  independence.  Thomas  was 
an  excellent  man  of  business  ;  he  gladly  undertook  the 
congenial  work,  but  stipulated  for  a  half-yearly  settlement 
of  accounts.  It  was  no  light  task,  for  his  men,  hke  those 
of  his  employer,  were  always  verging  on  mutiny  ;  their 
pay  was  always  in  arrear,  and  the  irregular  settlements 
depended  on  pillage.  The  peasants  were  stubborn  in 
resistance,  and  swarmed  like  hornets  round  Thomas'  flying 
camps.  By  indomitable  will  and  rapid  movements  he 
triumphed  over  all  opposition,  and  his  remittances  to  Appi 
were  so  satisfactory  that  his  jaghires  were  largely  extended. 
The  acquisitions  he  had  won  had  made  trouble  with 
Scindiah,  and  Appi's  army  was  in  revolt.  He  sought 
refuge   with  Thomas,   who,   showing   a   bold   front,   saved 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  263 

him  from  a  threatened  attack  of  the  mutineers.  In  grati- 
tude he  gave  him  the  full  freehold  of  other  lands,  yielding 
a  revenue  of  a  lakh  and  a  half  of  rupees  (£15,000),  a  sum 
equal  to  more  than  four  times  the  money  now.  The  value 
of  the  gift  was  enhanced  by  the  cession  of  an  almost  im- 
pregnable fortress,  to  which  Thomas  held  tenaciously  till  on 
the  eve  of  his  fall.  Scindiah  had  had  good  reason  to  appre- 
ciate his  feudatory's  staunch  friend,  and  made  him  many 
tempting  offers.  But  Thomas,  except  when  personally 
endangered,  was  a  Dalgetty  in  fidelity  to  a  military  bargain. 
He  stuck  to  Appi,  who  had  on  the  whole  treated  him  faith- 
fully and  generously,  but  even  with  xA.ppi  he  obstinately 
held  his  own.  The  war  had  gone  on  between  Appi  and 
his  feudal  superior.  Thomas  had  taken  a  fortified  town, 
surrendered  by  the  martial  Brahmin  governor  on  condition 
of  safety  for  his  life  and  property.  Appi,  who  hoped  to 
squeeze  the  wealthy  Brahmin,  demanded  that  he  should 
be  handed  over  to  him,  a  demand  which  Thomas  positively 
refused.  Appi  brooded  over  the  injury,  and,  in  Oriental 
fashion,  planned  an  assassination  which  Thomas  narrowly 
escaped.  Then,  as  often,  both  before  and  afterwards,  his 
courage  and  presence  of  mind  served  him  well. 

But  Appi  had  on  the  whole  been  a  generous  patron, 
and  his  death  threw  Thomas  back  on  the  world.  He 
quarrelled  with  the  chief's  successor.  He  was  dismissed 
from  his  posts  as  warden  of  Scindiah's  northern  marches  ; 
he  found  himself  his  own  master,  with  troops  who  were 
clamouring  for  arrears  of  pay.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but  frankly  to  turn  freebooter  and  support  himself  and 
his  men  by  pillage  ;  he  became  a  Pindarie  to  all  intents, 
save  that  he  was  never  wantonly  cruel.      He  ranged   the 


264  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

country  far  and  wide,  laying  towns  and  villages  under 
contribution.  But  with  his  relatively  feeble  forces  that 
could  not  go  on  indefinitely  ;  he  was  encroaching  on  the 
rights  of  more  legalised  robbers,  and  it  was  clear  he  would 
sooner  or  later  be  suppressed  as  a  nuisance.  Then  he 
decided  to  set  up  for  himself  as  an  independent  prince. 
When  we  remember  his  scanty  resources,  the  audacity  of 
his  schemes  is  amazing.  Knowing  the  vicissitudes  of 
Oriental  politics,  he  had  been  long  casting  covetous  eyes 
on  the  district  of  Harriana  to  the  north-west  of  his  borders. 
It  was  a  debatable  land  of  drought  and  desolation,  owning 
no  paramount  ruler,  but  with  a  warlike  population  and 
many  strong  places.  Moreover,  Sikhs  from  the  Punjaub 
had  been  establishing  themselves  within  the  northern 
boundaries.  Nothing  daunted  by  the  difficulties,  after 
desperate  fighting  he  overran  and  occupied  the  country, 
driving  out  the  Sikh  colonists,  although  it  brought  him 
into  collision  with  the  Khalsa.  Then  the  freebooter  became 
the  statesman  and  sage  administrator,  taking  wise  measures 
to  secure  his  conquest.  He  rebuilt  and  strengthened  the 
fortifications  of  Hansi,  his  principal  town.  He  invited 
skilled  artisans,  who  had  liberal  wages,  and,  like  his  old 
friend  the  Begum,  established  an  arsenal,  a  cannon  foundry, 
and  a  mint.  The  Sikhs  he  had  disturbed  were  awkward 
neighbours,  but  he  not  only  managed  to  keep  them  at  bay 
but  actually  dreamed  of  extending  his  dominion  to  the 
Indus.  To  his  following  he  was  free-handed  beyond  his 
means,  for  he  not  only  promised  pensions  to  his  veterans 
but  made  liberal  compensation  to  the  wounded. 

With  these  ambitious  dreams  of  conquests  in  his  mind 
he  set  to  work  on  preparations  which  soon  exhausted  his 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  265 

exchequer.  To  pay  his  troops  he  must  find  them  profitable 
occupation.  He  therefore  decided  to  raid  Jeypore,  which, 
as  he  used  gratefully  to  remark,  had  always  afforded  a 
supply  to  his  necessities.  Like  Morayshire,  between  Low- 
lands and  Highlands,  it  was  a  land  where  all  men  took  their 
prey.  Whatever  may  be  said  as  to  the  morality  of  the 
proceeding,  from  the  financial  and  military  standpoints  it 
was  a  success  ;  his  arms  were  everywhere  victorious  over 
overwhelming  odds.  Once  with  2000  fagged  and  famishing 
merL  he  held  a  hostile  city  against  an  army  of  40,000 — 
though  he  ultimately  was  compelled  to  retire  with  his 
booty  in  a  retreat  through  thirsty  deserts  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  Eugene,  Massena,  or  Marshal  Soult.  His 
personal  magnetism  must  have  been  marvellous,  and  at 
the  last,  when  deserted  by  all  the  rest,  his  bodyguard  still 
stood  by  him  staunchly. 

Discomfited  in  a  measure,  but  enriched  and  noways 
discouraged,  he  turned  his  arms  against  the  Sikhs.  Yet 
he  was  embarrassed  besides  by  a  complication  of  intrigues 
among  neighbours  ostentatiously  professing  friendships  of 
which  it  is  impossible  to  disentangle  the  threads.  His 
invasion  was  the  raid  of  the  robber  on  a  great  scale,  but 
never  did  his  military  talents  shine  with  greater  lustre. 
Considering  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  Sikhs,  which  we 
have  learned  to  appreciate  as  their  enemies  and  their  over- 
lords, we  are  alike  puzzled  and  astonished.  The  odds 
against  him  were  often  almost  as  great  as  those  in  his 
Jeypore  campaign  ;  and  his  own  handfuls  of  irregular 
horse  were  lost  in  the  swarms  of  the  Punjaub  cavalry. 
More  than  once  his  audacity  nearly  brought  him  to  disaster, 
but  strangely  enough,  the  enemy  was  panic-stricken  and 


266  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

ready  to  accept  peace  upon  any  terms.  For  more  urgent 
affairs  had  called  him  back,  and  he  withdrew  with  en- 
hanced credit  and  glory,  though  with  no  territorial  gains. 
With  ambitions  still  fixed  on  the  Indus,  in  the  following 
year  he  again  invaded  the  Sutlej  States.  Tempted  by  the 
wealth  and  fertility  of  the  country,  the  task  he  undertook 
was  that  which  taxed  to  the  uttermost  the  whole  of  the 
British  strength  in  two  prolonged  and  doubtful  campaigns. 
In  daring  so  much  he  recognised  its  increasing  difficulties, 
and  opened  communications  with  the  British  Government 
with  the  object  of  assuring  the  neutrahty  of  Perron  who 
then  commanded  Scindiah's  forces.  Perron's  jealousy  of 
Thomas  was  extreme,  but  the  one  power  with  which  the 
Frenchman  notoriously  avoided  coming  in  contact  was  that 
of  the  Company.  Thomas  said  his  intention  was  to  take 
possession  of  the  country  and  hand  it  over  to  the  British 
Raj,  placing  himself  and  his  army  absolutely  at  their  dis- 
posal. Lord  Wellesley  had  his  hands  full  elsewhere,  and 
naturally  mistrusting  what  seemed  a  mad  adventure, 
declined  the  proposals,  so  Thomas  had  to  content  himself 
with  another  of  his  lucrative  forays,  from  which  he  came 
off  with  flying  colours.  Again  he  dictated  terms  to  the 
Sikhs,  exacting  a  large  indemnity.  Had  they  known  the 
heavy  pressure  on  him  they  might  have  been  less  com- 
plaisant. His  inveterate  enemy  Perron  was  threatening  his 
own  territories  ;  there  was  no  room  in  Hindustan  for  both 
of  these  aspiring  soldiers,  and  Perron  had  at  his  back  all 
the  strength  of  Scindiah.  Thomas  made  one  of  his  rapid 
marches  back  to  Hansi,  and  began  to  prepare  for  an  im- 
pending siege.  Scarcely  had  he  retired  from  the  Punjaub 
before  the  Sikhs  offered  Perron  effective  assistance.     Thomas 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  267 

would  have  found  it  hard  to  make  head  against  that  com- 
bination, but  there  came  one  of  the  strokes  of  good  fortune 
which  repeatedly  saved  him  and  others  of  the  adventurers 
in  emergency.  The  two  great  Mahratta  chiefs  had  come 
to  blows,  and  Holkar  had  routed  Scindiah  in  a  pitched 
battle.  Scindiah  sent  Perron  a  peremptory  summons  of 
recall.  That  meant  his  abandoning  his  own  lucrative 
satrapy  in  the  north  and  leaving  Thomas  master  of  the 
situation.  The  weakening  of  Scindiah  was  no  great  blow 
to  him,  for  it  increased  the  master's  dependence  on  his 
best  general.  But  Perron's  jealousy  had  been  excited  by 
the  knowledge  that  Scindiah  had  made  those  repeated 
overtures  to  Thomas,  which  had  hitherto  been  declined. 
Now  he  dreamed  of  a  triple  stroke  of  policy — to  embroil 
Thomas  with  the  alliances  he  had  been  negotiating  in  the 
north,  to  break  off  negotiations  he  had  been  attempting 
with  Holkar  and  to  send  him  to  the  Deccan  instead  of 
himself.  The  scheme  was  absurd,  for  Thomas  was  not  the 
man  to  be  befooled  ;  nevertheless,  realising  that  his  situa- 
tion had  become  precarious,  he  was  not  indisposed  to  hear 
what  Scindiah  had  to  offer,  and  an  interview  with  Perron 
committed  him  to  nothing.  They  met  in  council,  when 
the  most  friendly  relations  were  established  between  the 
English  officers  in  either  camp.  Scindiah's  offers  were 
satisfactory  in  the  main,  but  there  were  two  conditions 
which  Thomas  would  not  entertain.  One  was  that,  as 
Perron  had  suggested,  he  should  send  some  of  his  battahons 
to  fight  Holkar,  which  meant  loosing  his  hold  on  the 
territory  he  had  appropriated  ;  the  other,  and  perhaps  the 
more  objectionable,  that  he  should  be  Perron's  subordinate. 
On  reflection  he  categorically  refused,  yet,  as  events  proved. 


268  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

he  would  have  been  wise  to  accept.  He  reverted  to  the 
ordeal  by  battle,  and  there  was  a  series  of  bloodily  con- 
tested actions.  After  what  had  been  nearly  a  drawn  fight, 
he  lost  everything  by  failing  to  follow  up  a  victory.  The 
old  foremast  man  celebrated  it  by  getting  hopelessly  drunk, 
and  was  in  a  state  of  intoxication  for  a  fortnight.  Then 
Hearsey,  of  whom  we  have  heard  lately  in  a  most  interest- 
ing memoir  of  his  family,  comes  in  :  the  command  devolved 
upon  him,  and  he  seems  to  have  shown  himself  in  the 
crisis  supine  and  incompetent.  The  beaten  enemy  brought 
up  supports,  and  drew  lines  of  circumvallation  round 
Thomas'  camp.  When  he  came  to  himself  he  did  all  man 
could  do  to  retrieve  the  consequences  of  his  drunken  folly. 
But  the  fatahsts  who  followed  him  believed  his  star  had 
been  eclipsed,  and  began  to  falter  in  their  allegiance.  The 
enemy's  emissaries  were  busy  within  his  lines,  bribing  and 
intriguing.  Food  and  water  and  ultimately  ammunition 
failed.  The  daily  desertions  became  more  frequent,  and 
at  the  last  he  was  abandoned  by  his  most  trusted  chiefs. 
Only  his  immediate  guards  remained  faithful.  When  the 
case  became  desperate  he  determined  to  cut  his  way  out. 
The  Mahratta  horse  took  the  alarm  ;  there  was  a  long  and 
close  pursuit,  but  he  reached  his  capital  in  safety.  There 
again  he  did  all  that  man  could  do.  He  poisoned  the 
wells  for  miles  around,  throwing  in  beef  and  pork  so  that 
neither  Mohammedan  nor  Hindoo  would  drink  the  water. 
These  formidable  obstacles  were  surmounted  ;  the  town 
was  carried  by  storm  ;  the  citadel  was  reduced  to  the  last 
extremity.  The  celebrated  Skinner  was  in  the  front  of 
the  attack,  where  Englishman  was  well  matched  against 
Englishman,  and  in  the  hand-to-hand  fighting  blood  flowed 


INDIAN    ADVENTURERS  269 

like  water.  Capitulation  became  a  matter  of  sheer  neces- 
sity. Perron  would  have  pressed  his  advantage  merci- 
lessly, but  Skinner  and  his  English  officers,  admiring 
Thomas'  indomitable  pluck,  generously  interposed.  Honour- 
able terms  were  granted,  but  there  was  an  ignoble  fall  of 
the  curtain  on  the  tragedy.  Thomas  was  entertained  at 
a  grand  banquet,  where  the  Frenchman  received  him  with 
forced  courtesy  and  his  countrymen  did  all  in  their  power 
to  console  him.  Again  the  wine  got  the  upper  hand,  and 
a  spark  set  fire  to  the  sulphurous  atmosphere.  A  heated 
French  officer  proposed  a  toast  which  roused  the  half- 
drunken  Celt  to  a  frenzy.  He  unsheathed  his  sword, 
ranted  and  swaggered  like  a  Bobadil  or  a  Capitaine  Fracasse, 
and  although  he  was  calmed  for  the  time,  the  festival  ended 
in  an  orgy.  The  sober  Skinner  took  the  precaution  of 
ordering  his  sentries  not  to  challenge  Thomas  on  his  exit. 
Unfortunately  there  was  some  misunderstanding,  and  one 
of  the  sentries  did  challenge  and  stop  him.  Thomas, 
no  longer  responsible  for  his  actions,  struck  at  the  man 
and  cut  off  his  hand.  When  he  came  to  his  senses  next 
morning  he  made  ample  apology,  but  the  mischief  to  his 
own  reputation  had  been  done. 

He  left  Hansi  for  the  British  frontier  with  wife  and 
children,  under  honourable  escort,  but  only  a  lakh  or  two  of 
rupees.  At  Benares  he  was  received  and  welcomed  by 
Lord  Wellesley,  to  whom  he  gave  much  valuable  informa- 
tion as  to  Central  India  and  the  North-West.  He  urged 
again  the  annexation  of  the  Punjaub,  arguing  that  the 
internal  distractions  would  make  it  easy.  The  Governor- 
General  lent  a  not  unwilling  ear,  but  at  that  time  he  had 
other  and  more  serious  pre-occupations. 


270  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Like  the  French  adventurers,  who  had  been  more  suc- 
cessful in  amassing  fortunes,  Thomas  longed  for  a  return 
to  his  native  land  ;  but  though  only  in  his  forty-sixth  year 
he  died  on  the  river  voyage  to  Calcutta.  The  toils  of 
incessant  warfare  and  the  anxieties  of  rough  and  ready 
statecraft  had  done  their  work,  while  his  frequent  bouts 
of  intoxication  had  sapped  a  strong  constitution.  He  died 
and  was  buried  at  the  cantonment  of  Bahrampur.  Though 
absolutely  illiterate  to  the  last,  he  is  said  to  have  become 
an  accomplished  linguist,  and  could  address  himself  to  his 
recruits  in  their  various  dialects.  He  could  not  have 
achieved  so  much  had  he  not  won  the  devotion  of  his 
immediate  entourage,  and  he  showed  wonderful  tact  in  the 
management  of  men  who  were  for  the  most  part  in  arrears 
of  pay  and  as  often  on  the  verge  of  rebellion.  That  he 
was  not  without  some  dash  of  chivalry  was  proved  when 
he  rode  in  hot  haste  to  the  rescue  of  the  Begum. 

Skinner's  career  was  sensational  as  that  of  Thomas. 
He  was  one  of  the  early  English  adventurers  who,  like 
the  Hearseys  and  the  Palmers  of  Hyderabad,  whether 
soldiers  or  merchants,  by  birth,  virtual  naturalisation  or 
intermarriage,  became  semi-Indian.  Like  the  Hearseys,  he 
passed  into  the  British  service  when  the  Mahratta  power 
was  broken,  but  unlike  Thomas  he  died  honoured,  hospi- 
table, and  prosperous,  in  a  good  old  age.  In  person  and 
bearing  the  two  men  were  very  different.  The  Irish  sailor 
was  singularly  handsome,  tall,  and  athletic ;  with  his 
muscular  figure  he  seemed  a  match  for  any  Pathan  or 
Rajpoot  swordsman.  Skinner  was  a  cheery-looking  little 
fellow,  wiry  and  active,  but  below  the  middle  height.     No 


INDIAN    ADVENTURERS  271 

one  would  have  set  him  down  at  sight  for  the  most  daring 
leader  of  light  cavalry  in  Hindustan.  Appearances  were 
deceptive,  and  his  troopers  knew  better.  Assiduous  practice 
had  made  him  a  master  of  his  weapons  ;  his  swordsman- 
ship resembled  sleight  of  hand,  and  his  skill  with  the  lance 
was  unsurpassed  even  by  those  who  had  handled  it  from 
childhood.  When  the  light  of  battle  flashed  into  his  face, 
that  jolly,  good-humoured  countenance  was  transformed. 
He  had  his  wild  followers  thoroughly  in  hand,  but  they 
loved  him  for  he  invariably  shared  their  hardships  and 
looked  carefully  after  their  comforts. 

His  dark  complexion  stamped  his  origin  ;  he  was  a 
half-breed  and  illegitimate.  In  the  memoir  he  left  he  tells 
much  of  his  own  story.  His  father  was  a  Scotchman  in 
the  Company's  service,  who,  like  most  of  his  brother  officers, 
had  formed  an  illicit  connection  with  a  Rajpoot  girl  who 
had  been  captured  in  a  raid  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  By  her 
the  young  Scot  had  six  children — three  daughters  and  as 
many  sons.  The  daughters  were  married  well  to  men  in 
the  Company's  service  ;  of  the  sons  the  eldest  went  to  sea  ; 
James  and  his  younger  brother  took  to  soldiering.  From 
boyhood  Skinner  led  a  hard  life,  and  he  had  varied  and 
trying  experiences  before  he  found  his  vocation.  The 
beginnings  of  his  education  were  in  a  charity  school,  for 
his  father  had  nothing  beyond  his  pay.  Then  he  was 
bound  apprentice  to  a  printer,  and  on  the  first  night  he 
was  kept  at  work  in  the  office  till  two  in  the  morning. 
Two  nights  more  of  the  drudgery  were  enough  for  him  ; 
he  escaped  by  the  window,  and  set  out  to  seek  his  fortunes 
with  eightpence  in  his  pocket.  For  a  time  he  earned  a 
precarious  livelihood  by  carrying  loads  in  the  bazaars  for 


272  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

four  pence  a  day.  Then  he  was  recognised  and  reclaimed 
by  a  servant  of  a  brother-in-law  who  gave  him  his  keep 
in  return  for  copying  papers.  That  work  was  as  distasteful 
as  the  printing  business,  when  his  godfather,  Colonel  Burn, 
came  to  the  rescue.  He  proved  more  of  a  father  than  his 
natural  parent.  He  was  told  that  the  boy  was  an  idle 
scamp,  so  he  called  him  up  and  solemnly  reprimanded  him. 
But  the  bark  was  worse  than  the  bite,  and  he  asked  what 
line  of  life  he  wanted  to  follow.  "  Soldier  or  sailor,"  was 
the  ready  reply,  and  the  Colonel  gave  him  300  rupees  and 
forwarded  him  to  his  father  at  Cawnpore,  whither  he  was 
soon  to  follow  himself,  when  he  would  find  him  employ- 
ment. The  Colonel  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  gave  him 
a  letter  to  De  Boigne,  then  at  the  head  of  the  Mahratta 
army.  He  was  gazetted  an  ensign,  and  appointed  to  a 
regiment  commanded  by  Colonel  Sutherland,  another  Scot 
with  whom  he  had  many  relations  in  the  future.  When 
De  Boigne  resigned  to  leave  for  France,  Sutherland 
succeeded  him  in  command  of  the  regulars  in  Hindustan — 
that  term  was  then  confined  to  three  central  provinces — 
the  southern  brigades  being  then  under  his  rival,  the 
Frenchman  Perron. 

Sutherland  was  ordered  into  Bundelcund.  Besides  his 
regulars  there  were  20,000  horse  with  him  under  Lukwa 
Dada,  one  of  the  most  daring  of  the  Mahratta  leaders,  with 
a  train  of  field  artillery.  They  were  charged  with  reducing 
"  refractory  Rajahs "  ;  in  other  words,  with  annexing 
territory  to  which  Scindiah  had  no  sort  of  claim.  The 
wild  campaigning  was  an  excellent  school  for  the  zealous 
ensign  of  eighteen.  When  not  in  the  field  he  gave  all  his 
time  to  archery,  spear  practice,  and  the  sword  exercise. 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  273 

Half  a  native  by  birth,  from  the  first  he  laid  himself  out 
to  make  fast  friendships  with  the  native  chiefs.  Then 
there  came  a  turn  in  the  intrigues  for  ascendency  at  court, 
and  Sutherland  was  superseded  by  Perron.  For  the 
masterful  Madhajee  Scindiah  had  died,  and  been  succeeded 
by  his  nephew,  Dowlat  Rao. 

Necessarily  there  were  palace  intrigues,  a  disputed 
succession,  and  revolts.  It  is  needless  to  go  into  the 
intricate  complications.  There  was  war  between  Dowlat 
Rao  and  the  Peishwah,  who  was  leagued  with  Holkar  and 
the  Nizam.  Many  of  Scindiah's  subjects  rebelled;  for  some 
reason,  when  his  services  were  most  indispensable  there 
was  a  quarrel  with  Lukwa  Dada,  and  dismissed  from 
office,  he  headed  the  insurgents.  The  outlook  for  Scindiah 
was  dark,  but  it  gave  young  Skinner  the  first  opportunity 
for  distinguishing  himself.  In  an  engagement  against  for- 
midable odds,  two  of  the  regular  battalions,  both  com- 
manded by  Englishmen,  bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle.  They 
had  lost  a  third  of  their  numbers  before  they  began  to 
cover  the  retreat,  which  could  scarcely  have  been  effected 
had  not  the  escape  been  by  a  narrow  gorge.  Skinner  with 
a  couple  of  companies  was  left  to  hold  the  pass.  When 
he  heard  the  enemy's  drums  the  main  body  had  cleared 
the  gorge,  and  he  began  to  fall  back.  Then  his  only  gun 
broke  down,  when  the  question  was  whether  to  abandon 
it  or  "  to  die  defending  it  like  good  soldiers."  He  had 
fired  his  soldiers  with  his  own  spirit,  and  the  shout  was  to 
stand  by  the  gun.  The  pursuit  came  up  in  force,  to  be 
greeted  with  a  storm  of  grape  and  a  volley  of  small  arms. 
A  charge  followed  ;  three  stand  of  colours  were  taken, 
and  the  enemy  driven  back  in  great  confusion.     The  gun 


274  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

was  saved,  the  retreat  was  made  good,  and  next  day  Skinner 
received  a  dress  of  honour,  with  honourable  mention  in 
despatches.  What  was  more  to  the  purpose,  he  had  his 
promotion,  with  an  increase  of  pay. 

That  intestine  Mahratta  war  was  no  child's  play,  and 
Skinner  has  many  sensational  and  characteristic  episodes 
to  narrate.  Scindiah's  forces  were  blockading  Chittur 
Ghur,  defended  by  the  gallant  Lukwa  Dada.  It  was  the 
hill  fortress  of  Oodeypore,  and  deemed  impregnable.  The 
siege  was  slow,  and  they  were  joined  by  Thomas  with  the 
six  battalions  he  had  hired  to  Scindiah.  Supplies  ran 
short  and  forage  was  almost  exhausted.  Skinner  had  had 
no  pay  for  six  months,  and  that  of  the  Mahratta  irregulars 
was  some  years  in  arrear.  Plundering  became  general ; 
raiding  parties  ravaged  all  the  country,  every  village  within 
a  radius  of  fifty  miles  being  burned,  the  Rajpoot  warriors 
and  the  ryots  alike  taking  shelter  in  their  large  hill-forts. 
It  was  then  Skinner  had  an  adventure  which  illustrates 
alike  the  faithlessness  of  the  Orientals  and  the  unscrupulous 
greed  of  the  English  soldiers  of  fortune  who  engaged  with 
them.  One  of  Scindiah's  bravest  captains  was  a  certain 
Hurjee,  but  unhappily  for  him  he  was  hated  alike  by  his 
own  leader  and  by  the  enemy's  general.  They  arranged 
together  that  he  was  to  be  entrapped  and  murdered.  One 
morning,  when  Skinner  was  exercising  his  horse,  he  met 
Hurjee  at  the  head  of  a  squadron,  and  asked  where  he  was 
going.  Hurjee  said  he  had  been  ordered  out  in  search  of 
a  ford,  and  asked  Skinner  to  accompany  him.  They  rode 
straight  into  the  snare,  but  cut  their  way  out  after  some 
desperate  fighting,  in  which  Skinner  manfully  played  his 
part.  Next  day  the  grateful  Hurjee  said  that  his  valiant 
sowars  had  only  done  their  duty,  but  the  Enghshman  had 


INDIAN    ADVENTURERS  275 

fought  for  him  as  a  friend.  And  he  presented  him,  to  his 
great  gratification,  with  bracelets  set  with  diamonds,  a 
sword,  a  shield,  and  a  valuable  horse.  Then  the  rapacious 
Sutherland  came  on  the  scene.  He  reprimanded  Skinner 
severely  for  riding  out  without  orders,  adding  that  he 
should  report  him.  But  he  let  him  understand  that,  if  he 
handed  over  the  horse,  the  escapade  might  be  overlooked. 
Sutherland  gained  nothing  by  the  attempt  at  blackmailing. 
Skinner  did  not  give  up  his  horse,  and  Hurjee  praised  him 
so  highly  to  Perron  that  the  general  sent  him  a  flattering 
letter  of  thanks. 

Those  Rajpoot  fortresses;  often  of  vast  extent,  were 
naturally  immensely  strong,  and  labour  had  been  ex- 
hausted in  artificially  strengthening  them.  One  of  the 
most  thrilling  incidents  in  our  Indian  warfare  is  the  gallant 
attempt  on  Gwalior  when  held  by  the  Mahrattas,  which 
only  missed  success  by  circumstances  which  could  not  havp 
been  foreseen.  Skinner  gives  a  vividly  picturesque  account 
of  the  storm  of  Shahjeghur,  heroically  defended  by  its 
Rajpoot  garrison  and  assailed  with  equal  determination  by 
the  Mahrattas.  As  in  the  Gwalior  affair,  when  the  stormers 
reached  the  walls  the  breaches  were  found  impracticable. 
Nevertheless,  they  persevered.  The  defenders  hailed  down 
great  stones  upon  them,  and  showered  powder-pots  plugged 
with  grass  and  thatch — an  Indian  modification  of  the 
Greek  fire.  After  two  hours  of  fruitless  effort  the  assailants 
withdrew.  Some  days  afterwards,  to  their  own  misfortune, 
the  garrison  roused  them  with  a  sally  to  beat  up  their 
trenches.  The  Rajpoots  were  repulsed  ;  the  Mahrattas 
followed  them  up,  and  thronged  through  one  of  the  gates 
along  with  them.  From  all  sides  storming  parties  swarmed 
up  like  hornets  ;    the  place  was  carried  and  the  bulk  of 


276  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  garrison  cut  to  pieces.  But  a  thousand  of  them  had 
retreated  to  a  keep.  The  Mahrattas  sometimes  showed 
generous  chivalry  in  victory.  Their  leader,  when  he  saw 
the  carnage,  said  the  survivors  were  noble  fellows  who 
must  be  saved,  and  sent  a  white  flag  offering  them  capitula- 
tion on  their  own  terms.  They  said  they  would  yield  if 
permitted  to  march  out  with  their  arms,  otherwise  they 
would  blow  up  the  keep  and  die  with  their  wives  and 
children.  They  got  the  terms  they  asked,  and  were  sent 
away  under  escort. 

Indeed  the  exterminating  determination  with  whicli 
those  wars  were  waged  makes  it  the  more  surprising  that 
the  foreigners,  however  daring,  should  invariably  have 
been  found  to  the  front,  and  that  they  should  have  sur- 
vived shot  and  sabre  to  reap  the  fruits  of  their  reckless- 
ness. Here  is  another  example  of  the  stubborn  heroism 
of  the  well-matched  combatants.  They  had  come  face  to 
face  to  fight  a  pitched  battle.  One  of  Scindiah's  brigades 
of  8000  under  a  Frenchman,  Dudernaig,  was  charged  by 
10,000  of  the  enemy's  horse.  10,000  Rhattores  "  were 
seen  approaching  from  a  distance ;  the  tramp  of  their 
immense  and  compact  body  rising  like  thunder  above  the 
roar  of  the  battle."  A  slow  hand-gallop  quickened  to 
racing  speed ;  the  cannon  of  the  brigade  riddled  their 
masses,  "  cutting  down  hundreds  at  each  discharge,"  still 
the  pace  was  never  slackened  ;  "on  they  came  like  a  whirl- 
wind," trampling  over  the  fallen  ;  nothing  could  either 
check  or  shake  them  :  "  they  poured  like  a  torrent  over 
the  brigade  and  rode  it  fairly  down,  leaving  scarce  a 
vestige  remaining."  Of  the  8000  only  200  escaped,  and 
Dudernaig  saved  himself  by  a  miracle  by  throwing  himself 
down  among  the  dead. 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  277 

Such  a  murderous  charge  should  have  decided  the 
battle,  but  notwithstanding  the  victory  remained  with  the 
Mahrattas.  Skinner,  although  slightly  wounded,  made  a 
good  thing  of  it.  The  victors  burst  into  the  hostile  camp, 
and  scattered  to  pillage.  He  had  the  good  luck  to  find  his 
way  to  the  Rajah's  bungalow,  magnificently  decorated 
with  embroidery  and  brocades.  "  I  saw  nothing  but  gold 
and  silver."  Opening  a  basket  he  found  some  jewellery 
and  two  golden  idols  with  diamond  eyes — the  idols  he 
immediately  secreted  in  his  bosom.  In  the  circumstances 
a  summons  to  his  commander's  presence  was  awkward, 
for  an  uneasy  conscience  made  him  suspect  that  the  chief 
had  information  of  his  prizes.  But  on  the  contrary  all 
passed  pleasantly  ;  he  was  praised  for  his  good  service  in 
the  day's  work,  and  among  other  things  presented  with 
another  robe  of  honour,  a  palanquin,  and  an  allowance  of 
forty  rupees  a  month  to  pay  the  bearers. 

The  formidable  insurrection  had  been  put  down,  and 
Scindiah,  who  had  been  thoroughly  frightened,  showed  his 
tender  mercies  to  the  captured  leaders  by  various  in- 
genious methods  for  their  happy  despatch.  Four  were 
blown  from  guns  in  the  ordinary  way,  another  was  blown 
up  by  rockets,  some  were  simply  poisoned,  and  others  had 
their  heads  crushed  in  with  tent  mallets — a  disagreeable 
reminder  to  the  Europeans  that  they  held  their  lives  on 
precarious  tenure,  for  as  they  were  perpetually  changing 
sides,  they  were  liable  to  be  sentenced  as  traitors. 

So  the  Mahratta  wars  always  went  on.  Scindiah  gave 
his  men  incessant  occupation.  Alternately  aggressive  or 
standing  on  the  defensive,  he  was  eternally  annexing  ter- 
ritory, repelhng  attacks,  or  quelling  disturbances.  His 
hordes  of  horsemen  lived  in  the  saddle  like  the  Pindarics, 


278  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

and  if  they  were  very  irregularly  paid  had  ample  oppor- 
tunities of  looting.  Skinner  did  well  for  himself  on  the 
whole,  but  could  not  always  expect  to  come  off  scatheless. 
Once,  to  use  a  vulgar  phrase,  he  had  an  exceedingly  near 
squeak  for  it.  They  were  then  fighting  the  Rajpoot  Rajah 
of  Ooncara.  Their  infantry  had  deserted  en  masse,  and 
when  the  Rajah  pressed  his  advantage,  Skinner  was  falling 
back  with  some  guns  at  the  head  of  a  thousand  horse. 
Retreating  towards  ravines  which  promised  a  refuge,  he 
was  charged  by  the  Rajah  in  person  and  surrounded.  He 
made  his  men  a  brief,  soldier-like  speech,  told  them  that 
death  must  come  sooner  or  later,  that  come  it  must,  and 
that  it  became  them  to  meet  it  now  and  die  like  soldiers. 
They  charged  in  turn  and  took  the  enemy's  cannon.  They 
formed  squares,  but  were  beset  on  all  sides  and  broken. 
Then  his  troopers  lost  their  coolness,  his  own  guns  were 
lost  as  well,  he  found  himself  left  with  only  ten  followers, 
and  one  of  the  enemy's  troopers  galloping  up,  fired  his 
matchlock  at  close  quarters.  He  dropped  for  dead  at 
three  in  the  afternoon,  and  did  not  regain  consciousness 
till  sunrise.  He  had  been  stripped  to  his  trousers,  and 
dragged  himself  under  a  bush  for  shelter  from  the  blazing 
sun.  Two  men  of  his  battalion,  severely  wounded  like 
himself,  had  crawled  to  his  side.  They  lay  there  through 
the  day,  dying  of  thirst,  till  the  second  night  came  on. 
It  was  so  dreadful,  he  says,  that  he  swore  if  he  survived 
to  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  soldiering.  All  around 
were  the  wounded  crying  for  water,  and  the  jackals  who 
were  feasting  on  wounded  and  dead  could  only  be  kept  off 
by  throwing  stones  at  them.  But  in  the  morning  two 
benevolent  Samaritans  came,  a  man  and  a  woman  who 
brought  bread  and  water.     Skinner  drank  eagerly,  thanking 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  279 

the  woman  and  Heaven.  But  there  was  an  extraordinary 
example  of  the  strength  of  caste.  One  of  his  companions, 
a  Subahdar,  was  a  high-caste  Rajpoot ;  the  good  folk  who 
came  to  their  assistance  were  Chunars  of  the  lowest  class, 
and  he  would  neither  have  bread  nor  water  at  their  hands. 
If  he  died,  he  preferred  to  die  unpolluted. 

That  day  the  Rajah  sent  coolies  to  bury  the  dead  and 
bring  away  the  wounded.  Skinner  was  carried  into  camp  ; 
the  ball  was  extracted,  and  with  his  intense  vitahty,  he  was 
on  his  legs  again  almost  immediately,  to  receive  gifts  and 
the  highest  commendation  from  the  chivalrous  Rajah.  Nor 
did  his  generosity  end  there.  He  sent  the  prisoner  to  his 
capital,  lodged  him  well,  treated  him  handsomely,  and 
finally  dismissed  him  free  at  the  end  of  a  month,  with  a 
horse,  a  sword,  and  a  shield. 

Perron  was  then  at  the  height  of  his  prosperity,  and 
Scindiah  had  every  reason  to  be  grateful  to  him.  Had 
not  Perron's  authority  made  him  formidable  to  his  master, 
and  had  the  Frenchman  continued  to  serve  the  Mahratta 
loyally,  the  course  of  events  might  have  been  different. 
But  Perron  was  intoxicated  with  unbroken  successes  ;  his 
head  was  turned  and  his  character  changed.  Skinner  says 
he  had  once  been  a  good,  honest  soldier  :  now  he  had  turned 
despot,  lending  a  ready  ear  to  flatterers.  Formerly  he 
had  been  free-handed  like  De  Boigne,  but  now  he  became 
avaricious.  All  the  best  appointments  were  given  to  his 
countrymen  ;  the  Mahratta  chiefs  and  the  English  officers 
were  alike  disgusted.  The  dissensions  and  intrigues 
^'eakened  Scindiah,  and  encouraged  his  enemies.  Holkar 
01  Indore,  always  jealous,  seized  the  opportunity.  He 
gathered  Pindarics  around  him,  leagued  himself  with  the 
Pathan,  Ameer  Khan,  and  candidly  told  his  troops  they 


2  8o  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

could  have  no  pay,  but  promised  an  abundance  of  plunder. 
He  kept  his  word,  and  those  ferocious  hordes  of  horse 
were  backed  by  disciplined  battalions,  officered  for  the  most 
part  by  Englishmen.  Meantime  there  was  almost  an  open 
rupture  between  Scindiah  and  Perron.  Skinner  assisted 
at  a  memorable  Durbar,  to  which  Perron  had  been  invited  in 
courteous  terms.  It  was  nothing  less  than  a  snare  arranged 
by  the  Rajah  for  the  assassination  of  the  inconvenient 
general.  But  Perron,  well  versed  in  Oriental  methods,  had 
wind  of  the  court  conspiracy.  He  came  to  the  Durbar 
attended  by  300  of  his  own  officers,  foreign  and  native, 
all  armed  to  the  teeth.  Scindiah  was  surrounded  by  a 
Pathan  guard,  assembled  as  Perron's  executioners.  He 
showed  his  disappointment  when  he  saw  his  prey  escape 
him.  There  was  whispering  with  his  counsellors,  and  the 
Pathans  were  ordered  to  withdraw.  Then  the  Rajah  had 
recourse  to  flattery,  but  Perron  knew  him,  and  was  not  to 
be  hoodwinked.  He  laid  his  sword  at  the  Maharajah's 
feet,  told  him  he  could  not  brook  such  insults,  and 
must  retire.  A  peace  was  patched  up,  with  interchange 
of  compliments.  Perron  carried  off  the  honours  and 
rode  back  in  trimnph  to  his  camp,  but  with  the  injury 
rankling. 

So  it  came  about  that  while  Holkar  with  his  ruthless 
bands  was  making  a  hell  of  Southern  Hindustan,  Perron, 
indifferent  to  his  master's  orders,  held  aloof,  looking  after 
his  own  affairs  in  the  north.  The  state  of  the  country,  and 
the  appeal  of  the  Peishwah,  alarmed  at  the  growing  power 
of  Holkar,  induced  the  English  to  interfere,  and  the  treaty 
of  Bassein  was  followed  by  the  Mahratta  wars.  The 
declaration  of  hostilities  was  a  turning-point  in  Skinner's 
career.     As  much  Indian  as  English,  and  a  veritable  soldier 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  281 

of  fortune,  he  had  no  wish  to  leave  the  Mahratta  service, 
but  he  was  compelled  to  go.  Other  Englishmen  in  Scin- 
diah's  pay  had  refused  to  fight  their  countrymen  and  had 
resigned  their  commissions,  whereupon  the  whole  of  those 
serving  with  Perron  were  summarily  dismissed.  Probably 
Perron  was  glad  of  the  opportunity,  for  Skinner  and  his 
comrades  were  sent  off  in  high-handed  fashion,  and  warned 
that  they  were  not  to  be  found  near  the  General's  camp 
after  a  certain  day.  They  went  to  Agra,  but  regretted  pay 
and  prospects,  and  had  still  a  hope  that  their  dismissal 
might  be  reconsidered.  On  the  day  of  the  notable  battle 
of  Aligarh  when  Perron  met  Lord  Lake,  their  tents  were 
pitched  in  a  garden  near  the  battlefield.  Skinner  rode  out 
to  witness  the  flight  of  the  Mahratta  horse,  with  Perron, 
hatless,  bringing  up  the  rear.  He  actually  accosted  the 
fugitive,  saying  he  was  there  to  share  his  fortunes.  Perron 
said  that  all  was  over,  that  his  men  had  behaved  like 
cowards,  and  bid  him  make  his  peace  with  the  British. 
Skinner  urged  him  to  rally  his  forces  and  make  a  stand, 
but  Perron  was  in  despair,  and  not  to  be  persuaded.  After 
some  further  attempts,  Skinner  cursed  him  for  a  traitor, 
and  took  his  leave,  teUing  him  to  go  to  the  devil. 

Though  he  had  broken  with  Perron  and  parted  from 
him  in  disgust,  nevertheless  he  had  no  wish  to  leave 
Scindiah's  service.  His  brother  officers  were  of  a  different 
mind.  They  represented  that  the  Mahratta  chief  would 
never  trust  them  again— that  they  had  best  make  their 
peace  with  the  English,  who  would  welcome  them  gladly. 
The  wiser  counsel  prevailed,  and  they  rode  in  a  body  to 
the  British  outposts.  Their  first  reception  was  rough 
enough,  and  Skinner's  future  was  trembling  in  the  balance, 
when  a  letter  was  handed  to  him  from  an  officer,  an  old 


2  82  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

friend  of  his  father's,  couched  in  cordial  terms,  which  in- 
duced him  to  delay  his  departure.  With  his  comrades  he 
proceeded  to  headquarters,  and  they  were  at  once  intro- 
duced to  the  Commander-in-Chief.  Lord  Lake,  who  was 
only  too  pleased  to  encourage  desertions  from  the  Mahrattas, 
received  them  with  the  greatest  kindness  ;  half-famished, 
they  were  invited  to  dinner  in  the  mess-room,  and  before 
the  evening  closed  all  doubts  as  to  their  welcome  were 
dissipated.  His  lordship  knew  Skinner  well  by  report,  and 
asked  him  if  he  would  take  service  and  raise  a  regiment 
of  horse.  Those  first  overtures  Skinner  unhesitatingly 
declined ;  he  said  he  was  still  Scindiah's  soldier,  and  would 
never  draw  sword  against  him.  Nor  would  he  consent  to 
write  to  the  other  officers  still  with  the  Maharajah,  to 
assure  them  that  if  they  came  over  they  should  hear 
favourable  terms.  But  after  all,  he  was  a  soldier  of  fortune 
and  bethought  himself ;  he  realised  that,  with  Perron  for 
an  enemy,  his  position  with  Scindiah  was  shaken,  and  he 
yielded  to  the  blandishments  of  the  Englishmen.  He  agreed 
to  send  the  letters,  and  they  safely  reached  their  destina- 
tion for  his  name  and  reputation  franked  them,  while  the 
messengers  who  carried  others  written  by  his  comrades 
were  waylaid  and  murdered.  Doubtless  that  incident 
weighed  with  Lake,  and  when  eight  rissalahs  of  Perron's 
horse  passed  over  to  the  camp  at  Delhi,  he  renewed  his 
proposals.  This  time  Skinner  accepted.  He  could  not 
resist  the  temptation  of  again  leading  his  old  followers 
into  action  when  they  greeted  him  with  joyous  acclaim. 
Thenceforward  they  became  known  as  the  famous  "  Yellow 
Boys,"  so  called  from  their  picturesque  and  rather  grotesque 
uniforms,  and  noted  under  their  daring  leader  for  many  a 
dashing  deed  of  arms.     Still,  with  a  Dugald  Dalgetty  sense 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  283 

of   honour,   he   stipulated   that   they  should    never    fight 
against  their  former  master. 

But  the  British  were  now  in  the  field  against  Holkar, 
and  with  regard  to  him,  as  Scindiah's  jealous  rival,  Skinner 
had  no  scruples.  His  horse  were  with  the  supports  upon 
which  Colonel  Monson  fell  back  after  his  disastrous  advance 
and  discreditable  retreat.  The  British  fled  to  the  shelter 
of  Agra,  abandoning  guns,  camp  equipage,  and  wounded, 
making  the  fatal  and  foolish  mistake  of  flying  before 
Orientals.  For  Holkar,  on  his  side,  though  of  high-strung 
courage,  always  nervous  and  scared  by  his  own  unexpected 
success,  was  withdrawing  in  the  opposite  direction.  At 
Agra  the  very  dregs  of  the  populace  were  deriding  the 
Feringhees  and  pelting  straggling  sepoys  with  stones,  till 
Lord  Lake  came  up  in  force,  bringing  victory  with  him, 
to  retrieve  the  situation.  Yet  Holkar,  a  man  of  moods, 
had  taken  heart  again,  and  with  his  raw  levies  of  wild 
horse,  to  be  numbered  by  the  ten  thousand,  was  pressing 
on  the  British  entrenchments.  Their  foraging  parties  were 
being  cut  up  ;  they  were  being  brought  from  short  rations 
to  within  a  hair's-breadth  of  famine.  Naturally  Skinner's 
irregulars  were  regularly  engaged  in  the  foraging,  and  as 
they  were  well  used  to  raiding  hostile  country  they  gene- 
rally came  off  scatheless.  As  the  old  marauder  puts  it 
bluntly,  "  I  used  to  go  out  in  the  morning,  plunder  the 
viUages,  and  send  in  whatever  I  could  lay  hold  of."  Conse- 
quently Lake,  who  was  nursing  his  scanty  forces,  thought 
him  the  very  man  to  send  out  on  a  dangerous,  but  neces- 
sary piece  of  work.  A  body  of  brinjarrahs  (carriers)  were 
bringing  up  their  bullock-train  with  supplies  of  grain  from 
Cawnpore.  They  had  been  stopped  en  route  by  a  Rajah 
who  was  wavering  in  his  allegiance,  and  who  had  bribed 


2  84  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  reluctant  carriers,  honest  enough  in  an  ordinary  way 
hke  all  their  class,  to  hand  over  the  grain.  Lord  Lake 
sent  for  Skinner,  and  asked  whether  he  thought  he  could 
save  the  stores.  Skinner,  who  seems  to  have  been  far  from 
hopeful,  said  he  would  either  save  them  or  lose  his  life, 
whereupon  his  lordship  shook  his  hand  and  said  he  would 
never  forget  the  service.  Subsequently  the  promise  was 
redeemed. 

Skinner  sounded  to  boot  and  saddle,  and  started  with 
1200  troopers.  Halting  within  a  short  ride  of  his  destina- 
tion, he  sent  forward  spies,  who  reported  that  the  carriers 
were  just  beginning  to  unload  into  the  fortress.  Not  a 
moment  was  to  be  lost.  Leaving  two-thirds  of  his  men  with 
his  brother,  with  the  rest  he  dashed  into  the  midst  of  the 
brmjarrahs,  shouting  out  that  Lord  Lake  had  sent  him  to 
their  help.  They  hesitated  and  began  throwing  down  their 
loads,  but  he  ordered  them  to  stop  that,  under  pain  of 
death,  and  several  were  summarily  shot  pour  encourager  les 
autres.  It  was  a  night  attack,  and  ere  sunrise  all  were 
well  clear  of  the  town.  But  the  carriers  had  had  reason 
for  their  hesitation,  and  the  Rajah  was  soon  in  hot  pursuit. 
By  the  time  he  was  overtaken  Skinner  had  rejoined  his 
main  body,  and  now  he  sent  his  brother  on,  with  half  his 
men,  in  charge  of  the  convoy,  while  with  the  other  half 
he  showed  front  to  the  pursuit.  The  Rajah  came  up  in 
far  superior  force,  but  after  vapouring  and  threats,  with 
some  emptied  saddles,  he  held  a  parley  and  listened  to 
reason.  The  grain  was  gone,  the  camp  would  be  fed,  and 
he  was  in  an  awkward  fix  with  the  British  army  between 
him  and  the  Mahrattas.  It  ended  with  his  entreating 
Skinner  to  make  his  peace  with  the  British  general.  Had 
Skinner  been  less  prompt,  he  would  have  interposed  too 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  285 

late.  Lord  Lake  realised  it,  and  was  profuse  in  thanks, 
renewing  his  promises  of  never  forgetting.  That  was  the 
first  of  many  exploits  by  which  he  won  the  favour  of  his 
new  employers.  The  welcome  supplies  enabled  Lake  to 
turn  the  tables,  and  Holkar  was  retreating.  There  was 
much  skirmishing  and  fighting,  and  Skinner  was  always 
hard  on  the  heels  of  the  retiring  foe,  taking  many  prisoners. 
Some  he  released,  with  sarcastic  messages  to  Holkar.  For 
seven  days,  he  says,  they  slept  in  the  open  and  had  no 
provision  but  what  they  found  in  the  fields.  Sometimes 
they  had  to  change  their  ground  twice  or  thrice  in  the 
night  to  avoid  surprises.  It  was  trying  work,  but  it  had 
its  compensations.  "  In  this  pursuit  I  acquired  great 
plunder  in  horses  and  camels."  He  adds  that,  though 
results  were  satisfactory,  "  I  felt  the  want  of  my  dram  ;" 
for  though  he  attained  a  good  old  age,  it  was  not  by 
practising  the  severe  temperance  prescribed  for  Europeans 
by  the  doctors.  Lord  Lake  bestowed  the  highest  com- 
mendation on  him,  presenting  him  with  another  horse  with 
gorgeous  trappings.  Indeed  he  made  himself  useful  in 
various  ways,  for  the  fame  of  his  exploits  reached  his  old 
comrades  at  Gwalior,  and  lured  many  deserters  from 
Scindiah  to  take  service  under  the  British  flag. 

There  was  no  rest  for  the  Yellow  Boys,  who  were  the 
scouts  and  eyes  of  Lord  Lake's  scattered  battalions.  The 
wild  Pindaric  leader  Ameer  Khan  marched  from  Bhurtpore, 
traversed  the  Doab,  and  broke  into  Rohilcund,  his  native 
country,  where  he  was  far  from  welcome.  Everywhere  he 
spread  devastation.  He  came  with  30,000  horse,  and  when 
he  left  with  only  a  third  of  the  number,  it  was  Skinner 
who  played  the  leading  part  in  his  discomfiture.  His 
atrocities  far  exceeded  those  of  Holkar,  but  he  had  not  the 


286  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

Mahratta's  courage.  When  the  concentrating  forces  of  the 
British  drove  him  to  retreat,  Skinner  invariably  led  the 
chase,  but  the  movements  of  the  lightly  equipped  marauders 
tasked  his  energies  to  the  utmost.  They  came,  as  has  been 
said  before,  with  only  horses  and  arms,  and  though  Skinner's 
squadrons  were  not  much  more  heavily  encumbered,  it 
was  wearisome  work  to  follow.  One  of  the  first  duties  on 
which  he  was  detached  was  the  relief  of  Bareilly,  for 
Ameer's  sudden  inroad  had  rushed  the  country,  and  the 
British  resident  with  a  handful  of  native  guards  was 
blockaded  in  Bareilly  gaol.  That  episode  reminds  one  of 
the  days  of  the  Mutiny  and  of  Wake's  brilliant  defence  of 
the  billiard-room  at  Arrah.  Skinner  with  looo  troopers 
dashed  ahead  of  the  General  in  command  of  the  main  body, 
to  find  that  the  Pindaries  had  been  scared  by  their  advance 
after  being  gallantly  kept  at  bay  by  the  little  garrison. 
They  hurried  forward  in  pursuit,  but  "Ameer  Khan  had 
led  us  such  a  dance,  that  for  several  days  we  were  all  in 
the  dark  as  to  where  he  had  got,"  till  Skinner  caught  some 
of  his  foragers  and  elicited  the  desired  information.  Then 
there  is  another  incident  which  recalls  Kavanagh's  memor- 
able sortie,  in  Indian  disguise,  to  carry  news  from  beleaguered 
Lucknow  to  the  troops  advancing  to  its  succour.  The 
General  was  puzzled  as  to  the  movements  of  Ameer,  and 
Skinner  volunteered  to  go  into  his  camp  and  find  out 
what  was  going  on.  Skinner  looked  the  Hindoo,  and  was 
fluent  of  native  speech,  nevertheless  nothing  could  have 
been  more  venturesome,  for  he  had  to  trust  his  life  to 
the  fidelity  of  troopers  who  could  have  earned  a  great 
reward  by  betraying  him ;  but,  as  the  result  proved,  his 
confidence  in  their  loyalty  was  not  misplaced.  Donning 
native  dress,  disguising  ten  picked  servants,  he  went  straight 


INDIAN    ADVENTURERS  287 

for  the  Pindarie  camp,  mingled  with  a  foraging  party, 
and  rode  in.  He  came  back  primed  with  the  intelhgence 
he  sought,  having  previously  sent  information  by  instal- 
ments by  messengers.  One  important  fact  he  learned — 
that  the  robbers  were  divided  in  racial  factions  ;  he 
waited  to  see  a  free  fight  between  Pathans  and  Mahrattas, 
and  then  he  slipped  away,  again  in  company  of  their 
foragers. 

Then  there  was  close  pressure  on  the  Pindarie  flight, 
with  incessant  fighting  and  skirmishing.  Skinner  and  his 
brother  showed  the  way,  in  command  of  separate  detach- 
ments. In  hand-to-hand  combat  he  and  his  brother  had 
many  hair-breadth  escapes.  In  brief,  soldierly  language 
he  relates  a  dramatic  incident  of  deep  personal  interest. 
News  was  brought  him  that  his  brother  was  surrounded 
in  a  ruinous  serai  by  the  enemy  in  overwhelming  strength. 
Again  there  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  loyalty  of 
the  rissaldars  to  their  English  chiefs.  Ameer  summoned 
the  dilapidated  fort,  inviting  them  to  give  up  their  leader 
and  surrender  an  untenable  post,  promising  to  each  man 
three  days'  pay  as  the  purchase-money.  The  younger 
Skinner  told  them  that,  to  save  their  500  lives,  he  would 
gladly  give  himself  up.  The  answer  was,  that  when  all 
had  fallen  he  might  go,  but  not  so  long  as  a  man  of  them 
was  alive.  They  knelt  and  prayed  to  God  to  give  them 
courage.  The  storm  burst  from  all  sides  :  the  stormers 
repeatedly  topped  the  walls,  only  to  be  cut  down  or  hurled 
back,  and  were  finally  driven  off  with  great  slaughter. 
When  night  had  fallen,  a  spy  who  was  with  the  detach- 
ment stole  out  to  carry  news  of  their  desperate  straits, 
having  cut  up  his  horse's  shoes  into  slugs,  for  ammunition 
was  almost  exhausted. 


288  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

The  elder  Skinner  was  in  sore  distress.  The  General 
sjonpathised,  but  declined  to  move  ;  he  said  plausibly, 
that  there  must  have  been  another  assault,  and  that  one 
way  or  another  the  affair  must  have  been  decided.  The 
resourceful  Skinner,  thrown  back  upon  himself,  took  prompt 
action  as  a  veritable  free  lance.  He  wrote  a  letter, 
addressed  to  his  brother,  but  really  intended  for  Ameer 
Khan.  A  man  brought  up  in  his  family  undertook  its 
delivery  to  the  true  destination,  and  ten  of  his  most  trusted 
sowars  volunteered  to  engage  in  the  plot.  It  was  efficiently 
carried  out  with  Hindoo  craft.  The  chief  messenger,  having 
assured  himself  that  the  garrison  still  held  out,  let  himself 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy's  pickets.  The  letter  was 
duly  read  by  Ameer  ;  it  told  young  Skinner  to  drag  out 
negotiations  for  surrender,  as  the  General  was  advancing 
by  forced  marches  to  his  relief.  Meanwhile  the  ten  sowars 
had  fired  some  corn-stacks  and  given  chase  to  some 
straggling  camp-followers.  The  cry  was  raised  that  the 
English  were  coming,  and  with  the  panic  that  so  quickly 
spreads  in  Oriental  armies,  Ameer  and  his  host  took  to 
precipitate  flight.  A  thousand  of  his  men  had  fallen  in 
the  attack,  and  the  loss  of  the  defenders  was  comparatively 
trifling. 

The  pursuit  by  the  Yellow  Boys  was  resumed,  and  the 
check  proved  fatal.  Ameer  lost  credit  and  character ; 
his  soldiers  deserted  by  hundreds,  he  found  resistance  at 
every  walled  village,  and  hurrying  to  escape  out  of  Rohil- 
cund,  crossed  the  frontier  river  with  10,000  disheartened 
men.  The  flying  Pindaries  were  in  evil  case,  but  Skinner 
and  the  Yellow  Boys  were  scarcely  beaten  off.  He  says 
they  had  hunted  Holkar  for  500  miles  and  Ameer  Khan 
afterwards  for  half  as  many  again  ;    they  had  been  far  in 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  289 

advance  of  the  main  body,  and  he  adds  the  almost  in- 
credible statement  that,  "  to  the  best  of  my  belief,"  they 
were  never  less  than  eighteen  hours  a  day  on  horseback. 
All  the  same,  and  immediately  afterwards,  he  expresses 
his  gratitude  to  the  General  for  always  sending  for  him 
when  there  was  anything  to  be  done.  There  was  no  diffi- 
culty in  gratifying  his  tastes,  and  soon  after  he  had  the 
opportunity  of  a  specially  sensational  exploit  before  a 
cloud  of  witnesses.  The  restless  Holkar,  with  the  defeated 
Ameer  in  company,  making  a  wide  circuit,  had  crossed  into 
the  Punjaub,  hoping  to  rouse  the  Sikhs  and  be  supported 
by  Runjeet  Singh.  Thither  the  British  forces,  led  by 
Lord  Lake  in  person,  had  followed  him.  The  armies  were 
separated  by  the  broad  stream  of  the  Sutlej,  and  the  cam- 
paign had  come  to  a  sort  of  stalemate.  Finally,  as  Holkar 
sat  fast,  Lake  decided  to  attempt  the  passage,  but  the 
difficulty  was  to  find  a  ford.  There  was  a  place  immediately 
in  front  of  him  which,  though  dangerous,  was  deemed 
practicable — so  dangerous  was  it,  that  he  hesitated  to 
give  orders  to  sound  it,  but  one  evening  he  remarked 
at  dinner,  apparently  casually,  that  he  wished  some  one 
would  try  the  depth,  with  a  troop  and  a  galloping  gun. 
The  chief  of  the  staff  whispered  to  Skinner  that  the  hint 
was  meant  for  him,  whereupon  he  rose  incontinently  and 
said,  "If  your  lordship  will  give  me  leave  I  will  try  the 
ford  to-morrow  morning."  Next  day,  with  two  squadrons 
and  a  galloper.  Skinner  was  down  at  the  ghaut,  and  his 
lordship,  with  his  staff  and  a  strong  muster  of  officers,  were 
all  there  to  look  on.  One  of  the  political  agents  remonstrated 
as  to  the  peril,  but  his  lordship's  mind  was  then  made  up, 
and  he  said  curtly  that  he  accepted  the  responsibility. 

"  Our  horses  had  to  swim  for  twenty  yards,  after  which 


290  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

they  got  footing.  There  was  an  island  in  the  middle  of 
the  river,  to  which  I  bent  my  course.  On  reaching  this  we 
found  it  a  quicksand,  on  which  my  galloper  stuck  fast. 
I  dismounted  and  directed  my  brother  with  two  rissalahs 
to  cross,  and  then,  dismounting  one  of  them,  to  bring  the 
men  back  to  relieve  the  gun,  which  had  now  sunk  up  to 
the  wheels.  The  rissalah  returned,  took  out  the  horses, 
and  dragged  the  gun  across  ;  and  just  as  we  landed  I  took 
off  my  hat  and  giving  three  hurrahs  in  which  Lord  Lake 
and  all  the  staff  joined,  proclaimed  that  the  first  British 
gun  had  crossed  the  Sutlej." 

Like  Hawkwood,  the  Anglo-Italian  Condottiere,  Skinner 
avowed  his  occupation  was  war,  and  these  stirring  times 
to  his  disgust  were  succeeded  by  a  period  of  piping  peace. 
Lord  Cornwallis  had  replaced  Lord  Wellesley.  Lord  Lake 
had  to  tell  Skinner,  "  with  tears,"  that  his  Yellow  Horse 
were  to  be  disbanded,  and  asked  him  how  he  was  to  be 
repaid  for  his  invaluable  exertions.  Skinner  answered 
that  he  would  be  satisfied  with  a  small  jaghire,  as  he  in- 
tended to  retire  from  soldiering.  Asked  whether  20,000 
rupees  of  rent  would  content  him  and  his  brother,  he  replied 
that  it  would  be  making  princes  of  them.  Disappointed 
of  that  by  the  interposition  of  the  Resident  at  Delhi,  who 
asserted  that  no  British  subject  could  become  an  Indian 
landowner,  he  was  indemnified  by  a  pension.  He  had 
spoken  of  renouncing  soldiering,  but  he  could  never  be 
happy  in  retreat.  His  staunch  patron  Lord  Lake  had 
promised  to  befriend  him,  but  Lake  had  died.  Helped  by 
other  and  influential  friends,  he  had  been  permitted  to 
retain  command  of  300  of  his  old  troopers  as  the  civil  guard 
of  the  Delhi  Resident.  They  were  the  nucleus  of  a  force 
that  any  call  from  him  could  expand,  and  he  was  soon  to 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  291 

have  the  opportunity.  Central  India  could  never  be  long 
at  rest,  nor  could  the  Company  ever  repose  on  its  conquests. 
A  Rajah  to  whom  a  tributary  territory  had  been  assigned 
had  been  unable  to  manage  his  turbulent  subjects,  and  a 
British  force  was  to  be  marched  into  the  country.  Skinner, 
with  his  regiment  increased  to  800  men,  was  attached  to  a 
work  which  went  on  for  several  years,  but  for  once  he  had 
few  opportunities  of  distinguishing  himself. 

Such  desultory  little  wars  were  but  the  prelude  to 
serious  trouble.  With  Lord  Moira's  advent  as  Governor- 
General  circumstances  compelled  a  change  to  a  more  war- 
like policy.  First  we  came  to  blows  with  the  Ghoorkas, 
who  have  since  given  us  some  of  our  best  native  regiments. 
Skinner  for  a  time  had  been  residing  at  Delhi,  where  an 
admiring  Resident  had  reversed  his  predecessor's  decision 
as  to  jaghires,  and  commuted  his  pension  for  a  grant  which 
made  him  a  landowner,  and  had  material  consequences 
for  his  future  career.  Now,  with  the  first  mutterings  of 
the  war  storms,  his  regiments  were  raised  to  a  strength  of 
3000,  and  once  more  he  was  out  on  active  service.  In  the 
northern  hill  country  and  the  passes  leading  into  Nepaul 
his  mounted  men  were  seldom  called  into  action,  but  they 
were  being  disciplined  for  a  service  better  suited  to  their 
habits  and  fighting  qualities.  As  scouts  and  skirmishers 
they  were  again  to  be  pitted  against  their  old  enemies, 
the  flying  Mahratta  horsemen  and  the  Pindaries. 

In  1814  the  situation  on  our  frontiers  had  become 
intolerable.  It  was  estimated  that  there  were  40,000 
Pindaries  abroad,  under  chiefs  who  rivalled  each  other  in 
ferocity,  mainly  taking  their  spoil  in  the  rich  valley  of 
the  Nerbudda.  Some  30,000  men  were  either  regularly  in 
the  pay  of  the   Mahrattas,   or  with  Ameer   Khan  in  the 


292  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

north.  At  last  they  had  broken  bounds  and  invaded 
British  territory.  They  knew  that  they  had  the  Mahratta 
princes  behind  them,  who  were  leaguing  themselves  for  a 
last  supreme  effort  to  shatter  the  Company's  power.  Holkar 
and  the  Bonslah  had  openly  taken  the  field  :  Scindiah 
was  known  to  be  in  virtual  alHance,  though  with  his  habitual 
craft  he  was  slow  to  commit  himself.  In  1817  the  British 
preparations  were  complete,  and  well-combined  movements 
from  north  and  south  ringed  in  the  marauding  Pindarie 
hordes.  Scattered  in  the  field,  as  Sir  John  Malcolm  says, 
they  were  hunted  down  like  wild  beasts  in  the  jungle. 
Brigand  soldiers  of  fortune,  their  hour  had  come.  A 
dramatic  Nemesis  overtook  Chetoo,  the  most  noted  of  all 
the  sanguinary  leaders.  Declining  or  distrusting  the 
strangely  lenient  terms  offered  him,  he  took  refuge  in  the 
jungles.  He  had  well  earned  the  sobriquet  of  "  The  Tiger," 
and  a  tiger  killed  him.  His  body  was  identified  by  the 
saddle,  sword,  valuables  and  papers  which  bestrewed  the 
ground.  Following  up  the  tracks,  the  tiger  was  traced  to 
his  lair,  and  there  the  head  of  the  famous  freebooter  was 
found  intact. 

Skinner  was  with  Ochterlony  in  the  campaign  which 
brought  Ameer  Khan  to  unconditional  surrender.  There 
was  more  treating  than  fighting,  and  Skinner  had  httle  to 
do.  Sir  John  Malcolm,  commanding  his  division,  sent  him 
a  letter  commending  the  steady  conduct  of  his  corps,  and 
hoping  they  might  long  continue  in  the  gallant  performance 
of  their  duty.  Malcolm's  kindly  hopes  were  only  partially 
realised.  Retrenchment  was  to  be  the  order  of  the  day, 
and  the  bulk  of  the  corps  was  paid  off.  By  way  of  com- 
pensation to  the  Colonel,  his  jaghires,  which  were  lease- 
hold, were  made  freehold  and  hereditary.     With  the  end 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  293 

of  the  "  Pindaric  War  "  his  active  service  may  be  said  to 
have  come  to  a  conclusion.  The  old  soldier  was  rusting  in 
repose,  and  in  his  memoirs  he  gives  vent  to  disgust  and 
disappointment.  "  Rapid  indeed  has  been  my  fall."  His 
expectations  in  the  Mahratta  service  had  been  high,  and 
no  question  had  been  raised  as  to  his  birth  or  colour. 
When  he  entered  with  the  British,  he  hoped  zeal  and  fidelity 
would  have  had  their  adequate  reward.  Regarded  as  a 
half-caste,  colour  and  birth  were  against  him.  The  old 
soldier  was  a  grumbler,  and  in  reality  had  little  reason 
to  complain.  His  services  had  generous  recognition  by 
his  chiefs,  from  successive  Governors-General  downwards, 
and  it  is  obvious,  from  the  state  he  kept  in  his  household, 
that  he  must  have  amassed  a  handsome  fortune.  Nor  was 
he  altogether  without  the  military  distractions  in  which  he 
delighted.  He  was  never  without  some  command  of  horse  ; 
and  in  1825,  when  the  Jhat  states  were  giving  trouble,  he 
was  commissioned  to  raise  a  second  corps,  when  he  had 
only  to  pick  and  choose  among  his  old  troopers.  He  was 
with  Lord  Combermere  at  the  siege  and  capture  of  Bhurt- 
pore,  though  then  his  duties  as  a  cavalry  officer  were  chiefly 
confined  to  scouting  and  foraging.  With  his  susceptibilities 
as  a  half-caste  he  was  immensely  pleased  when  his  services 
were  rewarded  with  the  ribbon  of  the  Bath. 

Back  at  Hansi,  one  of  his  regiments  was  disbanded. 
He  went  in  the  train  of  Lord  William  Bentinck,  who  treated 
him  with  tlie  highest  consideration,  to  the  memorable  meet- 
ing with  Runjeet  Singh,  accompanying  him  afterwards  on 
his  progress  through  the  Rajpoot  states.  These  were  his 
last  marches.  On  his  return  he  and  the  fighting  "  Yellow 
Boys  "  became  the  guardians  of  order  as  a  semi-civilian 
police.     At  Hansi  and  his  bungalow  of  Belaspore,   as  a 


294  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

wealthy  zemindar  and  country  gentleman,  he  lived  beloved 
and  respected  by  his  neighbours,  hospitable  to  all  comers 
and  generous  to  the  poor.  There  he  entertained  Lord 
Combermere  and  his  staff  when  on  their  progress  in  1827. 
Captain  Mundy,  his  lordship's  aide-de-camp,  describes  it 
as  a  handsome  and  spacious  house  in  a  flourishing  garden, 
where,  "  to  such  an  extent  does  he  carry  his  ideas  of  luxury, 
the  comfortable  old  soldier  has  erected  to  himself  an  elegant 
and  snug-looking  mausoleum."  They  were  with  him  again 
on  the  return  march,  when  their  reception  was  still  more 
magnificent,  with  Oriental  nautch  dances  and  fireworks. 
The  Commander-in-Chief  reviewed  Skinner's  famous  Horse. 
The  costumes  were  striking,  though  serviceable.  Tunics 
of  red  cloth,  white  cotton  pantaloons,  horse-furniture  of 
red  and  yellow  ;  the  weapons,  the  matchlock,  spear,  and 
sword.  The  most  of  their  manoeuvres  were  those  of 
European  cavalry,  but  their  speciality  was  the  Mahratta 
charge.  There  was  an  advance  in  line,  two  deep ;  the 
trot  broke  from  a  canter  into  a  gallop,  and  on  close  approach 
the  files  opened  out,  and  they  came  thundering  on,  with 
wild  shrieks  and  swords  flashing  over  their  heads.  At  the 
word  "  Halt,"  each  charger  was  brought  on  his  haunches 
within  ten  yards  of  the  reviewing  General.  Next  they  dis- 
played their  skill  with  the  matchlock  and  lance  ;  with  the 
latter  they  showed  amazing  dexterity.  Sometimes  the 
play  seemed  Hkely  to  end  in  earnest,  and  then  the  veteran 
commander  would  take  a  spear  from  an  attendant  and 
join  in  the  game.  "  I  think  I  see  him  now,  with  his  good- 
natured,  twinkling  eyes,  and  white  teeth  shining  through 
his  dark  countenance.  In  his  youth  he  had  been  a  master 
of  the  weapon  ;  even  in  age,  and  with  '  belly  with  good 
capon  lined,'  there  were  few  in  his  regiment  who  could 


INDIAN   ADVENTURERS  295 

match  him."  Like  Tostig  the  Saxon,  Murat,  and  many 
another  dashing  cavalry  leader,  he  loved  the  pomp  and 
pageantry  of  war,  and  his  own  uniform  and  that  of  his 
officers  was  resplendent.  He  does  not  repose  in  the 
mausoleum  he  had  built.  He  was  buried  at  Hansi  with 
military  honours,  but  afterwards  the  remains  were  trans- 
ferred to  Delhi,  where  the  second  obsequies  were  attended 
by  unprecedented  crowds,  and  sixty-three  minute  guns 
were  fired,  for  as  many  years  of  his  Ufe,  as  he  was  laid  under 
the  altar  of  the  church  he  had  built.  A  native  Prince 
paraphrased  in  Oriental  speech  the  scriptural  lament  that 
a  great  man  had  fallen  in  Israel. 

The  Anglo-Indian  soldiers  who  won  the  Hindu  affec- 
tions had  their  native  sobriquets.  Skinner  was  known  as 
Secunder  Sahib ;  Meadows  Taylor  long  afterwards  won  wide 
popularity  as  Mahadeo  Baba  ;  and  Colonel  Sutherland,  who, 
in  hot  rivalry  with  Thomas,  for  a  time  had  succeeded 
Perron  as  commander  of  Scindiah's  army,  was  Sutlej  Sahib. 
He  ran  a  course  almost  identical  with  that  of  his  competitors, 
with  very  similar  vicissitudes.  He  had  not  Skinner's  sense 
of  honour,  and  an  incident  has  been  mentioned  in  which 
he  figured  very  discreditably.  Naturally  his  unscrupulous- 
ness  was  no  bar  to  his  advancement.  He  had  begun  badly. 
He  was  cashiered  from  our  73rd  Regiment.  He  deserted 
to  De  Boigne,  and  was  second  in  command  when  De  Boigne 
retired.  With  Perron  he  was  always  at  daggers  drawn  ; 
their  rival  ambitions  made  them  bitter  enemies.  His  grand 
exploit  was  his  beating  Holkar  and  Ameer  Khan  leagued 
together  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Indore.  Finally,  by  the 
intrigues  of  Perron,  who  nevertheless  was  nearly  connected 
with  him  by  marriage,  he  was  degraded  from  his  high  rank, 
when  he  left  Scindiah  in  disgust  and  withdrew  to  Agra.   On 


296  SOLDIERS   OF   FORTUNE 

the  outbreak  of  the  Mahratta  war,  that  fortress  capitulated 
to  the  British,  and  it  was  Sutherland  who  treated  for  the 
surrender.  That  may  have  been  the  reason  for  his  being 
pensioned  by  the  Company,  dying  in  obscurity  in  somewhat 
straitened  circumstances,  for  he  does  not  appear  to  have 
made  much  of  his  great  opportunities. 

When  communications  with  the  mother  country  were 
slow  and  comparatively  rare,  and  adventurers  were  more 
famihar  with  the  sword  than  the  pen,  many  of  their  memo- 
rable exploits  were  never  recorded.  But  much  of  public 
interest  may  still  exist  in  neglected  family  papers.  We  have 
a  striking  example  of  that  in  the  records  of  the  Hearseys, 
recently  edited  by  Colonel  Pearse,  and  published  by  Messrs. 
Blackwood.  For  five  generations  they  were  famous  in 
Oriental  wars,  fighting  first  for  their  own  hands  and  after- 
wards for  the  British  Raj.  The  last  of  note,  and  by  far 
the  most  distinguished,  was  Sir  John,  the  hero  of  many  a 
battle  and  of  many  a  hair-breadth  escape,  the  veteran  who 
quelled  the  Barrackpore  revolt,  the  prelude  to  the  Mutiny, 
when  Mungal  Pandy,  whose  name  became  the  synonym  for 
a  mutineer,  paid  the  penalty  of  his  crimes  on  the  gallows. 
But  many  another  fighting  family  played  a  similar  part  in 
the  thrilling  history  of  our  Indian  conquests. 


INDEX 


Aberdeen,  47 

Abo,  195,  196 

Adda,  the,  136 

Adige,  the,  130 

Agra,  281,  283,  29s 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  52,  244 

Alberoni,   Cardinal,    167,    168,    171, 

Albornoz,  Cardinal,  10 

Alexander  de  Bourbon,  i 

Alfonso  of  Aragon,  18 

Aligarh,  252,  281 

Alost,  137 

Alps,  the,  2,  6,  132 

Alsace,  103,  137,  222,  227 

Al  Sirat,  bridge  of,  83 

Amsterdam,  50 

Ancona,  29,  30. 

Andalusia,  174 

Anhalt-Dessau,  Leopold  of,  135 

Anne,  Duchess  of  Brunswick,  190 

Anne,    Duchess   of   Courland,    216, 

217,  218 
Anne,  Empress  of  Russia,  179,  180, 

181,  182,  184,  190 
Antoing,  230,  233 
Antwerp,  238,  241 
Apennines,  the,  9 
Aragon,  25 
Arcot,  249  ' 
Ardenvohr,  65 
Arezzo,  14 
Argyle,   Duke  of,   },},,   42,   46,    138. 

141,  155,  160,  161 
Arnheim,  78 
Assaye,  252,  259 
Ath,  236,  237 
Athens,  Duke  of,  3 
Atholl,  Duke  of,  159 
Attendolo,  Muzio,  24 


Augsburg,  91 

Augustus,    Elector  of  Saxony  and 
King  of  Poland,  152,209,  217,  220 
Austria,  Upper,   133 
Auvergne,  1 1 
Avignon,  11 
Ayr,  43,  56 

Bacharach,  89 
Badajoz,  14,  72 
Baden,  treaty  of,  144 
Bagnacavallo,    14 
Bahrampur,  270 
Baillie,  Major-General,  46 
Balkans,  the,  103 

Balquhain,  Count  Leslie  of,  96-104 
Bamberg,  Bishop  of,  82 
Banner,  Field-Marshal,  n 
Banner,  General,  ti 
Barcelona,  168 
Bareges,  Baths  of,  189 
Bareilly,  286 
Baroda,  Guikwar  of,  246 
Barri  Wood,  230,  231,  232 
Bastille,  the,  107 

Bauditzen,  Lieutenant-General,  82 
Bavaria,  90,  147,  224,  225 
Bavaria,  Duke  of,  118 
Bavaria,   Leopold,    Elector   of,   97, 
109,  no,  116,  117,  118,  122,  128, 

129.  133.  135.  142,  152,  219,  222, 

223,  228 
Bavaria,   Max   Emmanuel  of,    117, 

132 
Bavaria,  Maximilian  of,  91,  loi 
Belgrade,   103,    in,   113,    117,    nS, 

122,  123,  145,  147,  149 
Belleisle,  220,  224 
Benares,  269 
Benevente,  169 


•97 


298 


INDEX 


Bentinck,  Lord  William,  260,  293 

Berar,  Rajah  of,  246 

Berezoff,  178 

Bergen-op-Zoom,  131,  243,  244 

Bergstrasse,  87 

Bergtheim,  100 

Berlin,  jj,  157,  189,  204 

Berwick,   Duke  of,    105,    137,    153, 

169,  220,  221 
Bestucheflf,  Vice-Chancellor,  197 
Bhurtpore,  72,  260,  285,  293 
Bianca  Maria,  Princess,  29,  30 
Bigorre,  170 
Bingen,  89 
Biron,  Duke  of  Courland,  176,  180, 

187,  190,  215,  217,  218,  222,  223 
Blenheim,  no,  134,  136,  139 
Bohemia,    n ,    100,    loi,    102,    103, 

201,  202,  206,  223,  224,  225 
Bologna,  Signoria  of,  16 
Bordeaux,  169 
Borneholme,  roads  of,  62 
Bosnia,  128 
Bosphorus,  the,  104 
Boufflers,  139,  140,  141,  142 
Bourbon,  97,  222 
Bourbon,  Jacques  de,  12 
Bourdonnais,  249 
Bouslah,  the,  292 
Brandenburg  Margrave,  "JT,  78 
Brandenburg,  New,  69,  75,  "j}) 
Brandenburg,  Old,  jj 
Breda,  52,  54,  239 
Breitenfeldt,  78,  82 
Brescia,  21,  28 
Brest,  226 

Bretigny,  Peace  of,  2 
Broglie,  Marshal,  224,  225 
Broun,  201,  202 
Bruges,  52,  140,  237 
Brunswick,  91 

Brunswick,  Duke  Bevern  of,  201 
Brunswick,  Prince  of,  188 
Brussels,  54,  137,  229,  237,  241 
Buda,  116 

Buddenbrog,  192,  193 
Budweis,  223 
Bundelcund,  272 
Burgundy,  Duke  of,  137 
Burn,  Colonel,  272 
Burnet,  56 
Bussone,  17 


Butler,  Walter,  74,  102 
Byng,    Admiral    Sir    George,    167, 
174 

Cahors,  71 

Calabria,  25 

Calabria,  Duke  of,  3 

Calcutta,  270 

Callender,  Earl  of,  40 

Calverley,  1 1 

Cammock,  Admiral,  173 

Campania,  15 

Caprara,  146 

Caravaggio,  30,  31 

Carignan,  106 

Carlowitz,  145,  146 

Carmagnola,  17-32 

Cassano,  battle  of,  136 

Castagnaro,  battle  of,  i;, 

Cathcart,  161 

Catherine,  Empress,  177,  217,  218 

Catinat,    119,    120,    121,    126,    129, 

130 
Cawnpore,  272,  283 
Cenis,  12 
Cesena,  14 
Chambery,  251 
Chambord,   Chateau   of,    237,    244, 

245 
Charles,    Emperor,    144,    145,    184, 

222,  228 
Charles,   King,   33,   38,   40,   41,   42, 

44,  47,  48,  49,  50,  52,  53,  54,  55. 

58,  60,  61,  62,  63,  66,  71,  72,  74, 

76,  77 
Charles,  Prince,  224,  226 
Charles  VII.,  223 
Charles  XII.,  213 
Chatham,  Lord,  156 
Chefoo,  247 
Chetoo,  292 

Chevalier,  the,  162,  163,  164,  226 
Chiari,  130 
Chittwa  Ghur,  274 
Christian  of  Denmark,  62 
Claverhouse,  Graham  of,  33,  42,  55, 

56 
Clermont,  Colonel,  239 
Clive,  249 

Coblenz,  89,  137,  220 
Cohorn,  in 
Coigny,  Marshal,  225 


INDEX 


299 


Colberg,  64 

Colchester,  44 

Cologne,  52 

Combermere,    Lord,    72,    259,    260, 

293.  294 
Como,  19 

Company,  the  White,  11,   12,  13 
Conde,  49 

Condottieri,  the,  1-17 
Coote,  Sir  Eyre,  249 
Corniche,  2 
Cornwallis,  Lord,  290 
Cotignola,  14 

Council  of  Ten,  the,  20,  22,  23 
Courland,  Duchess  of,  179 
Courtrai,  227,  228 
Covenant,  the,  38 
Covenanters,  the,  40,  42,  5i>  5^ 
Crachnitz,  218 
Cremona,  131 
Crimea,  the,  185 
Cromwell,  44,  45,  46,  50 
Cronstadt,  177,  178 
Cumberland,    Duke    of,    228,    232, 

233,  237,  240,  241 

Da  Carrara,  Lord  of  Padua,  15 

Dalecarlia,  196 

d'Alembert,  156 

Dalgetty,  Dugald,    ii.    35,    37.   45- 

51,   60,    65,    72,    74,   82,   96,    98, 

263 
Dalziel,  33,  42,  48,  50,  52,  55,  56 
Dameine,  66,  68 
da  Mortare,  Braccio,  25,  26,  27 
Dantzic,  62,  182,  218 
Danube,  the,  61,  89,  90,   103,   no, 

III,  122,  125,  128,  145,  147,  189, 

213,  222,  225 
d'Asfeldt,  153,  221 
Daun,  202,  205,  206 
de  Boigne,  249,  250,  251,  252,  272, 

279,  295 
de  Bouquoi,  89 
de  Castellan,  63 
Deccan,  the,  207,  247,  259 
de  Conti,  Princess,  172 
de  Grassins,  230 
de  Joinville,  Seigneur,  157 
de  la  Colonic,  M.,  123 
de  la  Pergola,  Angelo,  19 
de  Leon,  St.  Pol,  165 


Delhi,  246,  253,  254,  256,  257,  282, 

291,  29s 
dc  Lobin,  Countess,  212 
de  Montreal,  Walter,  5,  6,  7,  12,  14 
de  Noailles,  M.,  221,  227,  229 
de  Roquefeuille,  Admiral,  226 
Derwentwater,  Earl,  155 
d'Estes,  15 
Dettingen,  225,  227 
d'Harcourt,  Duke,  227 
Dnieper,  the,  183,  184,  186 
Doab,  252 
Doge,  the,  18,  20 
Dolgoroukis,  the,  178,  179,  181 
Donauworth,  90,  93 
Douro,  the,  83,  87 
Dowlat  Rao,  273 
Dresden,   200,   209,   210,   211,   214, 

218,  205 
Drogheda,  38 

Drummond,  General,  48,  51 
Dudernaig,  276 
Dumaine,  Captain,  66,  68 
Dumfries,  43 
Dunaverty,  42 
Dunbar,  battle  of,  47 
Dunblane,  160 
Dundee,  160 
Dunkirk,  226 
Dunklespiel,  96 
Dunnottar,  156 
Dupleix,  249 

Edinburgh,  38,  42,  53,  60 

Ecorcheurs,  the,  i,  2 

Eger,  fortress  of,  224 

Egra,  102 

Elbe,  the,  11 1 

Elizabeth,  Empress,  176,  194,  197 

Elsinore,  35 

Erfurt,  82 

Etlingen,  221 

Eugene  of  Savoy,  105-154 

Eu  redoubt,  230,  231,  233 

Fairfax,  43,  47 

Ferdinand  of  Brunswick,  203,  205 

Fetteresso,  163 

Finland,  195,  196 

Finnish  Cuirassiers,  36 

Flanders,  99,  107,  229 


300 


INDEX 


Florence,   3,  4,    10,   14,    17,   20,   21, 

23,  27,  29,  31 
Florence,  Signoria  of,  16 
Fleury,  220 
Fontenoy,  229,  230,  231,  233,  234, 

236,  239 
Forth,  the,  38 
Franconia,  37,  82,  89 
Frankfort,    35,   69,    70,    74,    75,   76, 

78,  86 
Frederick  of  Prussia,  153,  198,  199, 

200,  201,  203,  204,  205,  206,  207, 

220,  224 
Freiburg,  142 

Friedland,  Duke  of,  90,  91,  97,  loi 
Fronde,  49 

Galloway,  51 

Gallows  Hill,  235 

Garioch,  98,  99 

Genoa,  18,  20,  28 

George,  King,  243 

Ghent,  140,  237 

Gibraltar,  174 

Glasgow,  43,  47 

Glencairn,  52 

Gordon,  General,  99,  100,  102,  164 

Gothenburg,  37 

Gournay,  1 1 

Grammont,  Duke  of,  225 

Grand  Company,  the,  7 

Grandson,  19 

Grant,  Colonel,  203 

Grant,  James,  100 

Grierson,  42,  55 

Guarinci,  4,  5 

Guienne,  1 1 

Gunter,  Captain,  72 

Gustavus  Adolphus,  58,  59,  61,  62, 
66,  67,  68.  78,  79,  80,  83,  84,  87, 
88,  89,  90,  92,  94,  95,  96,  98,  100 

Gwalior,  250,  275 

Hague,  the,  52,  137,  140,  171 

Hainault,  French,  229 

Halle,  61,  82 

Hamburg,  77,  198 

Hamelin,  36 

Hamilton,  Duke  of,  n,  42,  44,  45, 

46,  47,  159 
Hamilton,  Marquis  of,  77 


Hamilton,  Sir  John,  83 

Hanan,  Colonel,  85 

Hanse  towns,  the,  1 1 1 

Hansi,  264,  269,  293 

Hapsburgs,  the,  109,  222 

Haradschin,  91 

Harte,  60 

Hastings,  Warren,  249,  250 

Hatto,  Bishop,  89 

Hawkwood,    Sir    John,    6,    12,    13, 

15.  17 
Hearsey,  268 

Hearsey,  the  records  of,  296 
Heber,  Bishop,  260 
Hebrides,  Outer,  170 
Heilbronn,  134,  153 
Helsingfors,  196 
Henri  Quatre,  71 
Hepburn,  Brigadier-General,  82 
Hepburn,  Life  of,  100 
Hepburn,  Sir  John,  58-95 
Hesse-Homburg,  Prince  of,  184 
Hesse,  Landgrave  of,  77 
Hochkirch,  207 
Hochstadt,  134,  135 
Holkar   of   Indore,    246,    267,    273, 

279,  280,  283,  285,  288,  289,  292, 

295 
Holland,  47,  50,  53 
Hornby,  44 
Home,  65,  75 
Hound,  the,  62 
Howard,  103 
Hull,  Z7,  44,  46 
Humber,  the,  38 
Hume,  55 
Hungary,   118,   121,   129,   132,   133, 

143.  145 
Hungary,  King  of,  5 
Hungary,  Queen  of,  224,  228 
Huntly,  162,  164 
Hurjee,  274,  275 
Hyde,  Sir  Edward,  50,  52 
Hyderabad,  253,  270 
Hyderabad,  Nizam  of,  246 
Hyder  Ali,  Sultan  of  Mysore,  247 

Ingolstadt,  90,  91 
Ireland,  Marshal  of,  38 
Islam,  prophet  of,  254 
Italy,  2,  9,  II,  12,  122,  123 
Ivan  of  Brunswick,  190 


INDEX 


301 


Jackson,  80 

James  VII.,  155,  166,  16S 

Jane,  Queen  of  Naples,  5 

Janissaries,  the,  124,  127,  146 

Japan,  52 

Jeypore,  265 

Kahlenberg,  115 

Kaiser,  the,  loi,  102,  116 

Kaiserstadt,  104,  222 

Kara  Mustapha,  114,  123 

Keith,  Marshal,  155-208 

Keith,  Earl  Marshal,  155 

Keith,  Field-Marshal,  198 

Keith,  Lady,  155 

Khalsa,  264 

Khan,   Ameer,   279,   286,   288,   291, 

292,  295 
Khandi,  Appi  Rao,  262,  263 
Kil waring,  38 

Kimphausen,  General,  64,  65,  69,  70 
Kinglake,  124 
Kintyre,  41,  42 
Kirkcaldy,  51 
Kolin,  203 

Konigsmark,  Aurora  von,  209 
Konigstein,  82,  200 

La  Colonie,  151,  152 

Lacy,  182 

Ladislaus  of  Naples,  25 

Lafieldt,  241,  242,  243 

Lake,  Lord,  249,  252,  281,  282,  283, 

284,  285,  289,  290 
Lally,  249 
Lambert,  44,  54 
Lanark,  44 
Landau,  142 
Lando,  Count,  7,  9,  10 
Langdale,  44 
Languedoc,  1 1 
Lansberg,  75,  76 
Las  Torres,  Count  de,  175 
Lauderdale,  33,  56 
Lech,  90 

Leckinski,  Stanislas,  182,  184 
le  Couvreur,  Adrienne,  216 
Lefort,  215,  216 
Leghorn,  18,  172 
Leipzic,  y2>,  79,  82,  90,  204 
Leith,  37,  38 
Leitmeritz,  204 


Leon  tow.  General,  185 
Leopold,   Elector    of    Bavaria,    97, 
109,  no,  116,  117,  118,  122,    128, 
129,  133,  135,    142,  152,  219,  222, 
223,  228 
Leslie,  Count  of  Balquhain,  96-104 
Captain  of  Bodyguard,  102 
Count  of  the  Empire,  102 
Field-Marshal,  103 
Imperial  Chamberlain,  102 
Knight  of  Order  of  the  Golden 

Fleece,  103 
Master  of  Ordnance,  103 
Vice-President     of     the    War- 
Council,  103 
Warden   of  Slavonic   Marches, 

103 
Leshe,  David,  41,  42,  43 
Leuthen,  206 
Le  Vaisseau,  255,  258,  261 
Leven,  33,  38,  39,  40,  41,  42,  43 
Lewis,  the,  170 
Liege,  216,  238,  239 
Ligonier,  233,  238,  239,  242,  243 
Lille,  fall  of,  140 
Lille,  siege  of,  1 39 
Lillynichol,  the,  62 
Lion  of  the  North,  the,  96,  100 
Liria,  Duke  of,  168,  175,  178 
Liswari,  249,  253 
Lithuania,  183 
Livonia,  211 
Lobositz,  201,  202 
Lockhart,  Colonel,  45 
Lombardy,  8,  19,  20 
London,  48,  59,  226 
Lorenzberg,  203,  204 
Lorraine,  Charles  of,  202,  205,  206, 

227,  238 

Lorraine,  Duke  of,  82,  84,  114,  115, 
116,  117,  118 

Louis,  King  of  Baden,  107,  108, 
109,  no,  III,  113,  116,  121,  136 
143,  159,  210,  211,  212,  225,  226. 

228,  231,  232,  235,  236,  238,  243, 
244 

Louis  of  Tarento,  5 
Lowendahl,  235,  236,  240,  243 
Lowendal,  187 
Lucca,  14 
Lucknow,  250,  251 
I  Ludowitz,  202 


302 

Lukwa  Dada,  272,  273,  274 
Lumsdale,  Sir  James,  35,  73 
Liitzen,  35,  67,  94,  100 
Lynedoch,  Lord,  131 


Macaulay,  55 

McDonald,  Alaster,  41 

McDonald,  Sir  Donald,  161 

Madras,  250,  253 

Madrid,  156,  166,  167,  168,  169,  173, 

175 
Maestricht,  238,  241,  242,  243,  244 

Magdeburg,  74,  76,  78 

"Magdeburg  quarter,"  83 

Magyars,  the,  114,  116 

Maigrigna,  1 1 1 

Maillebois,  Marshal,  224,  225 

Main,  the,  61,  85 

Maintenon,  Madame  de,  144 

Malatesta,  3,  6,  28 

Malcolm,  Sir  John,  292 

Malplaquet,  battle  of,  141,  211 

Manstein,   181,   184,   190,   192,   193, 

195.  197 
Mar,  Duke  of,  158,  162,  163,  170 

Mar,  Earl  of,  155 

Marchfeld,  the,  115 

Maria  Theresa,  223,  23^ 

Marienburg,  82 

Marlborough,   90,     no,     131,     132, 

133.  134.  135.  136,  137.  138.  139, 

140,  141,  142,  211,  227 
Marseilles,  12,  167,  172 
Marston,  39 
Martin  V.,  Pope,  25 
Matthews,  Admiral,  222 
Maubeuge,  229 
Maurice,  Count  de  Saxe,  209 
Mausethurm,  89 
Mayence,  86,  87,  89,  119 
Mazarin,  Cardinal,  106 
Mazarin,  Duke  of,  107 
Medici,  Cosmo  de,  31 
Medzibeg,  183 

Meer  Cossim,  Nawab  of  Bengal,  254 
Menschikoff,  Prince,  177,   179,  217, 

218 
Menteith,  51 
Merthens,  Eva,  208 
Meuse,  the,  132,  239,  243 
Middleton,   33,  43,  44.  49,   SL   52, 

53-  54,  55 


INDEX 


Milan,  8,  13,  15,  18,  22,  27,  29,  30, 

31.  32 
Milan,  Gian  Galeazzo,  Duke   of,  17, 

20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  27,  28,  29 
Mincio,  the,  in,  130,  131 
Mitchell,  97 

Mittau,  179,  180,  215,  216,  218 
Mohacs,  116,  123 
Moira,  Lord,  291 
Moldau,  82 
Monk,  51.  54 
Mons,  III,  140,  229 
MontecucuUi,  65,  66,  70 
Montrose,  33,  40,  41,  47,  51.  160 
Montserrat,  28 
Montserrat,  Marquis  of,  1 1 
Monza,  17 
Morea,  145 
Morgarten,  19 
Moscow,  181,  182 
Moselle,  the,  no,  137,  139 
Mundy,  Captain,  256,  260,  294 
Munich,  91,  98 
Munich,    Field-Marshal,    180,    181, 

182,  184,  185,  187,  188,  190,  194. 

198 
Munro,  David,  66 
Munro,  Colonel  Robert,  58-95 

Nagpore,  Rajah  of,  246 
Namur,  in,  112,  238 
Naples,  6,  8,  15,  16,  103 
Naples,  King  of,  3 
Naples,  Ladislaus  of,  25 
Naples,  Queen  of,  20,  25 
Napoleon,  97,  no,  114,  138,  154 
Natzer,  138 
Neckar,  the,  134 
Nehern,  General,  125 
Nepaul,  291 
Nerbudda,  291 
Newburgh,  52 
Newcastle,  39,  160 
Newcastle,  Duke  of,  158 
Newry,  38,  39 
Nizam,  273 
Nordlingen,  94,  103 
Norris,  Sir  John,  226 
Nuremberg,  35,  85,  92,  100 

Obi,  the,  178 
Ochsenfurt,  84,  85 


INDEX 


303 


Ochterlony,  292 
Ockzakow,  186,  188 
Olmutz,  206 
Oodeypore,  274 
Orange,  Prince  of,  54,  141 
Orange-Nassau,  William  of,  240 
Ottoman  advance,  114 
Oude,  Nawab  of,  254 
Oudenarde,  138,  237 
Overton,  Colonel,  46 
Oxenstiem,  62,  'j'j 
Oxford,  48 

Palamos,  167 

Palestrina,  7 

Palffy,  Count,  145,  146 

Pandolfo  Malatesta  of   Brescia  and 

Bergamo,  19 
Pandolfo  Malatesta  of  Rimini,  10 
Panmure,  Earl  of,  159,  162 
Pappenheim,  79,  92,  96,  98 
Paris,  49,    52,    107,    166,    167,    170, 

214,  215,  237,  238 
Passaro,  Cape,  174 
Patna,  254 
Pa  via,  97 

Peishwah,  246,  273,  280 
Percy,  Lord,  250 
Perron,    251,    252,    266,    267,    269, 

272,    273,    275,    279,    280,     281, 

295 
Persia,  185 
Perugia,  5,  8 
Pescara,  26 

Peterhead,  156,  162,  163,  171 
Peter  the  Great,  178,  179,  180,  182, 

184,  211,  216 
Peterwardein,  125,  145 
Philip  of  Spain,  221 
Philippo  Maria,  19,  28 
Phillipin,  72 
Philippsburg,  153,  221 
Piacenza,  30 
Piccino,  29 

Piedmont,  2,  120,  121,  125 
Pilau,  62 
Pisa,  14 

Plasencia,  Arcelli  of,  18 
Po,  the,  23,  30  ' 

Podesta,  4 
Poland,  189 
Poland,  King  of,  53 


Polish  Diet,  the,  215,  217,  218 

Pomerania,  73,  Tj,  97,  211,  212 

Pomerania,  Duke  of,  63 

Poona,  246 

Pope,  the  (Eugenius),  10,  14,  15,  20, 

29,  30,  146 
Port  Arthur,  73 
Portmore,  Earl  of,  158 
Portree,  165 
Potocky,  Count,  189 
Potsdam,  157,  198 
Prague,  82,  203,  223,  224 
Preobrajenski,  194 
Presburg,  114,  132 
Provence,  2,  6,  11 
Punjaub,  252,  269,  289 

QUEDLINBURG,   2 ID 

Raab,  the,  114 

Rabutin,  Count,  125 

Rajpoots,  27s 

Rajpoot    Rajah    of    Ooncara,   278, 

279,  280,  285 
Ramsay,  Sir  James,  83,  88 
Rastadt,  143 
Ravenna,  8 

Rebellion,  1641,  the,  38 
Redgauntlet,  Sir  Robert,  55 
Reinhardt,  Walter,  254 
Repuin,  Prince,  198 
Rheingau,  89 
Rhine,    the,    61,    86,    87,    iii,    122, 

123,  132,  134,  142,  153,  i86,  234, 

238 
Richard  II.,  17 
Richelieu,   loi 
Rienzi,  7,  14 
Riesengebirge,   100 
Riga,  211,  217 
Rimedo,  129 
Rimini,  6 

Rohilcund,  254,  285,  288 
Romagna,  5,  6,  13 
Rome,  7,  8,  103 
Rossbach,  205,  206 
Rostock,  "jy 
Rothes,  33,  38 
Rouen,  50,  170 
Ruffi,  Polyxena,  25 
Rugen,  62 
Rugenwald,  63,  70 


304  INDEX 


Runjeet  Singh,  289,  293 

Ruthven,  165 

Ruthven,  Sir  Patrick,  62 

St.  Germains,  49,  166 

St.  Peter,  Patrimony  of,  5 

St.  Petersburg,   175,   177,   182,   189, 

191,  194,  198,  216,  222,  225 
Samaria,  85 

Samzoo,  Begum,  253,  255,  256,  257 
San  Sebastian,  14,  72,  169 
Sardhana,  254,  255,  257,  258,  259 
Save,  the,  125,  145,  147,  148 
Savoy,  Eugene  of,  105-154 
Saxe,  Marshal,  209-245 
Saxe-Lauenburg,  Duke  of,  90 
Saxe-Weimar,  Bernard  of,  tj,  89,  94 
Saxony,  Elector  of,  61,  78,  182,  184 
Schartorinski,  183 
Schelbeane,  64,  66 
Scheldt,  the,  230,  233 
Schellenberg,  90,  no 
Schiller,  58,  61,  93,  no 
Schomberg,  70 
Schwerin,  199,  202,  208 
Scindiah  of  Gwalior,  246,  250,  251, 

252,  253,  257,  259,  262,  263,  266, 

272,  273,  274,  277,  279.  280,  281, 

283,  295 
Scott,  33.  41,  51,  55,  62,  93 
Seaforth,  162,  171 
Sedan,  171 
Sedlitz,  205 
Sforza,   Attendolo,   24,   25,   26,   28, 

30.  32 

Sforza,  Francesco,  13,  24,  25,  26 

Siberia,  190 

Sible  Hedingham,  17 

Sienna,  5 

Sigismund,  Emperor,  20 

Silesia,  205,  224 

Sismondi,  5,  31 

Sivagie's  "  rats,"  246 

Shahofski,  Prince,  183,  184 

Sharpe,  56 

Shere  Alum,  Emperor,  255 

Sheriffmuir,  159,  160 

Skinner,  Captain,  258,  268,  269, 
270,  271,  273,  274,  275,  277.  278, 
281,  283,  284,  285,  286,  288,  289, 
290,  291,  292;  his  sobriquet, 
"  Secunder  Sahib,"  295 


Skinner,  the  younger,  287,  288 

Sofia,  123 

Sombre,  254,  255,  259,  261 

Somerset,  Duke  of,  155 

Soubise,  204,  205,  207 

Spahis,  126 

Spain,  53,  121 

Spain,  Cardinal  Infant  of,  103 

Spain,  French  Queen  of,  107 

Spain,  Infanta  of,  174 

Spanish    Succession,    War    of    the, 

129 
Stahrenberg,  Guido,  127 
Stair,  Earl  of,  159 
Stamboul,  103 
Stockholm,  191,  196 
Strasburg,  143,  245 
Strathmore,  Earl  of,  162 
Stuttgard,  136,  143 
Sutherland,  Colonel,  272,  273,  275, 

295 
Sutlej,  266,  289,  290 
Sweden,  59 

Sweden,  King  of,  35,  166 
Switzerland,  21 
Sylvia,  Don  Phillipe  de,  86.  87 

Tallard,  134 

Tard-venus,  2 

Tarento,  8 

Tarquin,  4 

Taylor,  Meadows,  247,  295 

Teufel,  Colonel,  71 

Texel,  171 

Theiss,  the,  125,  126,  127 

Thirty  Years'  War,  the,  58,  62,  94, 

105,  no 
Thomas,    George,    252,    253,     256, 

257,  261,  262,  263,  266,  267,  268, 

269,  270,  274 
Thug,  247 
Thuringenwald,  82 
Thuringia,  204 
Tilly,    70,    71.    74.    75.    78,    79.   82, 

86,  89,  90,  96 
Titel,  125 
Tondeurs,  2 
Tongres,  241 
Torallo,  20 
Tortensohn,  75 
Toulon,  222 
Toulouse,  172 


INDEX 


305 


Tournai,    iii,    140,    141,   229,   230, 

231.  237 
Tours,  123 
Tours,  Mr.,  49 
Transylvania,  118 
Trefenbach,  70 
Tullibardine,  171 
Turin,  118,  136 
Turkey,  185 
Turkey,  Sultan  of,  104 
Turner,  Sir  James,  33-57 
Tuscany,  28 
Tyne,  38,  39 

Ugie,  157 

Ukraine,  the,  186,  189,  190 

Ulster,  38 

Urban  VI.,  15 

Usmaiz,  218 

Utrecht,  Peace  of,  143 

Utrecht,  142 

Valence,  121 

Valliere,  Louise  de  la,  106 

Vauban,  1 1 1,  229 

Vend6me,  131,  132,  136,  137,  138 

Venice,  8,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  29, 

30.  31.  14s 
Versailles,   109,   113,   121,  131,   134, 

223,  224,  240 
Vicenza,  129 
Victor   Amadeus   of   Saxony,    117, 

118,  120,  130 

Vienna,    8,  98,  108,   114,  115,   116, 

119,  122,  123,  130,  132,  133,   143, 
152,  154,  199,  200,  223 

Villars,  Marshal,  113,  140,  141,  142, 
143,  144,  146 


Villeroi,  130,  131,  136 
Villiers,  153 

Vilvorde,  238  • 

Visconti,  29,  31,  32 
Visconti,  Bernabo,  of  Milan,  14,  15 
Vittoria,  74,  234 
Vivard,  General,  152 
Vizier,    the   Grand,    128,    145,    146, 
149.  152 

Wade,  Marshal,  227,  228 
Waldeck,  Prince  of,  228,  237,  238 
Walker,  Patrick,  55 
Wallenstein,  6,   35,   59,  61,  86,  92, 

96,    97,    98,   99,     100,    loi,    102, 

224 
Wandewash,  249 
Warsaw,  183,  217 
Weissenberg,  203 
Wellesley,    Lord,     252,     266,     269, 

290 
Wellington,  83,  87,  234 
Werben,  78 
Werner  (Guarinci),  4 
Wigan,  45 

Wilmanstrand,  192,  193,  208 
Wodrow,  55 
Wolgast,  62 
Worcester,  48 
Wrangel,  192,  193 
Wiirtemberg,  146 
Wiirtzburg,  82,  84,  100 
Wiirtzburg,  Bishop  of,  92 
Wybourg,  191 

Zenta,  III,  125,  126,  128 
Ziskaberg,  202,  204 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


